High Times at Ponyville
by ULTIMAX-001
Summary: A new pony family introduces cannabis to Ponyville. How will Ponyville react in a cannabis tolerant environment? Read and Review please! Final chapters are up! Thank you so much for reading my story. I worked very hard on it!
1. Chapter 1

"Have we packed everything?"

"Like, we sure did. Me and the kids are, like, ready to go, and junk."

"Okay. Then where is my brother?"

"I'm right here and before we leave I think we should have a session."

"My friend, that's a great idea. I'll use the Good Luck pipe. We have a big day ahead of us and it is important we make a good impression on Ponyville."

It was a nice warm day in Ponyville. Everypony was going about their business as they usually do. Princess Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, and Applejack decided to eat together at Twilight's favorite cafe, outside. The three ponies were deciding what to do today.

"Hey, I know what we could do," Twilight began. "We could go swimming at the swimming hole. The weather is warm enough for it."

"Yes, but that water is icky," Rarity countered. "And I shall not want to ruin my mane today. I worked to hard on it this morning."

"But it looks the same as it always does," Applejack said.

"How dare you," Rarity gasped.

"How about Hide and Seek?" Twilight interjected.

"Did somepony said Hide and Seek?" Rainbow Dash said coming in for a stylish landing. "I'm game. Just as long as we get to pick any place in at least a ten mile radius and whoever's it gotta find all of us in 10 minutes! It would be the most epic hide and seek game ever!"

Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack looked at each other with unimpressed expressions.

"No Hide and Seek," Applejack said.

"Hi, girls," a voice said from afar. It was Pinkie Pie. She was walking with Fluttershy and Spike.

"Hey Pinkie Pie," greeted Twilight. "We were here just trying to come up with something to do today. What are you guys up to?"

"We were helping Fluttershy," Pinkie said.

"Yeah, we were looking for new little critters to care for," Fluttershy added. "But we couldn't find any."

"Yeah, all I found was sore back." Spike said.

"Hey, somepony had to look up that tree," Pinkie Pie started. "And since I was the tallest I needed a boost."

"I'm still convinced that doesn't make any sense," Spike grumbled.

"Well it looks like we're all at a lost of what to do today." Twilight deduced.

"TOWN MEETING!" a voice bellowed from across the street. It was Mayor Mare. The Cutie Mark Crusaders and their newest recruit, Babs, accompanied her. They rang little bells to help call everypony's attention.

"Town meeting, everypony," she yelled some more. "We have a presentation from a family of new ponies."

Everypony made their way toward the center of Ponyville, where the presentation was being held. A family of five bohemian ponies, waited with a cart full of jars, clothes, and treats. The family waited patiently to be introduced by the Mayor. They were soon surrounded by nearly every pony in Ponyville.

Twilight was able to catch the Mayor before she introduced the new ponies.

"Hey Mayor," she started. "What's going on here? Who is the new family?"

"These are a group of farmers," the Mayor said. "One of them met me the other day to introduce a magical herb that they learned how to cultivate. Ponyville can definitely use something like that! We would be the only town to have such a thing. Isn't that exciting?"

Twilight and the others sat and waited patiently for the presentation to start.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts," the Mayor began. "Today Ponyville welcomes its newest family of farmers, the um… what were your names again?"

One of the ponies stepped up to finish the introduction.

"My friends, we are the Kush family," he said. "I am Golden Kush. The big one over there is my little brother, Silver Kush. These beautiful girls of mine are Strawberry Kush and Vanilla Kush. And this beautiful bud here, the love of my life, is Aurora Indica Kush. We are cannabis farmers."

Golden Kush is an off white pony with a dark brown dreadlock mane tied in a bun. He has a shaggy beard and his eyes are dark green. He wears a vest and a necklace with a small horn as the charm. It doubles as a smokers pipe. His cutie mark is a gold cannabis leaf. Silver Kush is stallion. He is jet black. His light gray mane is long and unkempt and covers his eyes. He also has a shaggy beard and wears a vest. His cutie mark is a silver cannabis leaf. Strawberry Kush is a Pegasus and is the youngest. She is strawberry pink with a beet red curly mane. Her eyes are light green. She wears a white bandana around her neck. She does not have her cutie mark yet. Her sister is older. Vanilla Kush is a white Earth pony. Her black mane is also dreaded but more stylish than her father's. She has it tied in a ponytail. Her eyes are purple. She carries a hoofmade satchel. Her cutie mark is a chef's hat with a cannabis leaf on it. Aurora Indica Kush is a red unicorn with a blonde dreaded mane like Golden Kush's. She has purple eyes as well. She wears a flowing sundress and a ring of flowers around her head. Her cutie mark is a green cross.

"Today," Golden Kush continued. "We wanted to demonstrate the use of this versatile herb-"

Golden Kush continued to pitch cannabis to the crowd. He opened a jar of freshly harvested buds and the musky odor began to travel amongst some of the crowd. The Cutie Mark crusaders were among the few that got a good whiff.

"Hold on a sec," Babs said to herself. " I know that smell."

"Yup me, too," said Applebloom. "Smells just like a polecat, don't it?"

"Well, yeah," Babs started. "But it also smells like drugs."

"Drugs? Like medicine?"

"Well, not exactly. There's this kid in my school who sells this stuff to other kids. In Manehatten, you can get in a lot of trouble for even having it. If you get caught with it, the cops'll haul you off in a Manehatten minute! And if they catch you selling it, forget about it!"

"You mean it's illegal?" Applebloom shouted, disrupting the presentation.

Everypony looked at her, including the Kush's.

"Is there something wrong, my friend?" Golden asked.

"Well I overheard," Applebloom started, stammering a bit. "Well, it's not that I think you're a bad guy, but-"

"What my cousin is trying to say here," Babs chimed. "Is that this stuff is illegal where I come from. It's marijuana. It's a drug. We learned about it in school."

The crowd began to murmur amongst themselves. Twilight and Spike made their way toward the front.

"Is this true, Mr. Kush?" the Princess asked.

"My friends," Golden said with his hooves raised. "I didn't think we would have to explain the dark side of the herb this soon in our demonstration, here. But we would gladly address this now. Vanilla, if you would?"

"Gladly," she enthusiastically agreed. "You must come from Manehatten, right," she said to Babs.

"Yeah. What of it?"

"Me and my family studied cannabis for a long time. During our research we found that certain places in Equestria were already aware of it but only a few places. Manehatten was one of the first cities to actually produce cannabis but it was outlawed due to the crime it induced. Cannabis became a scarcely known herb. It's all here in my 21st Edition of Botanical Facts."

She handed the book to Twilight who immediately began reading it.

"We also brought pamphlets."

Vanilla started passing stacks of pamphlets to ponies to pass around amongst the crowd. She continued to explain their intentions.

"We want you to be aware that this herb is not universally accepted. We want you to be aware that in the wrong hooves, cannabis can be misused, abused, and mistreated. We hope that along with the cultivation of cannabis for Ponyville and the surrounding towns, we can educate you on the true value of it. That way you can decide for yourselves if this is something you want in your town."

The ponies listened intently to the young mare. Some were touched by her insightful words. Princess Twilight especially was convinced to listen to her and her family on what they have to say about cannabis.

Aurora Indica Kush came forward to speak.

"Like, we have many uses for this herb ranging from, like, nutrition to apparel."

"Did she say apparel?" Rarity jolted up.

Aurora continued, "Like, one of the most important uses we have for it is for medicine. Little dragon brother?"

Spike turned his attention to Aurora Indica.

"Like, I noticed you're suffering from back pain. I can, like, help you with your pain, if you care to help me demonstrate, and junk."

Spike shrugged and agreed. Aurora then popped a pipe full of ground up buds of cannabis into his mouth.

"Now, like, light the herbs with fire from your nose and inhale with your mouth."

Spike did as instructed. He violently coughed the first time. After recovering he took another drag from the pipe. He was able to inhale the smoke with ease.

"Like, cannabis can help with pain relief," Aurora stated. "But as a practicing doctor and nutritionist, I would like, totally prescribe this for a patient suffering from neurological diseases, mental disorders, or, like certain, chronic illnesses. I could, like, prescribe in herb form, oils, ointments, or like, delicious cookies or candies!"

"Isufferfromdepressionsignmeup" yelled Pinkie.

"What?" Applejack responded.

"Like, tell us little dragon dude," Aurora said to Spike. "How do you feel?"

Spike looked at Aurora then at the crowd of ponies, wide-eyed.

"I feel awesome," he said with a wide relaxed smile.

Ponies began to cheer and applaud.

"Sweet, Celestia. There are ponies everywhere," Spike continued.

"Spike what's the matter with you?" Twilight asked.

"Brother Spike is like, experiencing a side effect of the herb," Aurora explained. "Euphoria. Other side effects may include an increase in appetite, short-term memory loss, laziness, the need for physical stimulation, a need to feel outwardly social, or paranoia. It may also like, make you feel lightheaded and drowsy. But fear not, my brothers and sisters. Like, as long as you're in a relaxing and positive environment you should feel as happy as our dragon friend, here."

The Ponies began to cheer aloud for the Kush family. They passed out samples of goods from their cart. Ponies lined up as they passed out little sacks of buds, swatches of hemp fabric, fragrances, snacks, and oils. Ponies could not wait to explore the benefits of cannabis.

"That's right, my friends," Golden Kush yelled. "Please accept these gifts as sort of a free trial. In a couple of days we would like your consent to start farming right outside of town. We certainly hope you find this to be an enriching experience!"

Even the mane six received gifts. Twilight was about to leave with her friends but turned around back at the cart. Her attention was set on Vanilla Kush.

"Um, excuse me, Vanilla Kush?" she politely asked. "If you have time, later, would you like to join us. We could probably use a pony of your experience with this stuff. You're sister can come, too."

"Sure," Vanilla said. "We can come, now actually. Mom, Dad, we're gonna go with our new neighbors. Is that okay?"

"Like, absolutely," Aurora said.

"Just be back by supper," Golden added.

Vanilla and Strawberry Kush went off with Princess Twilight and the rest to Rarity's house.


	2. Chapter 2

Twilight and the rest introduced themselves to Vanilla and Strawberry Kush on the way to Rarity's. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were excited to meet another filly who has yet to acquire their cutie mark. When they arrived the Crusaders darted off to Sweetie Belle's room with a bag of medicated cookies. The rest went to Rarity's common room. Spike was staring intently at the ponies. He was particularly fascinated with Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie was already eating her pot brownies.

"These sure taste a little strange," Pinkie Pie said.

Applejack grabbed one and smelled it.

"Smells kinda... earthy," she added.

"Yeah, that is the down side to edibles," Vanilla said. "The terpenes are what you're tasting and smelling. When separating the THC from the plant I'm afraid the terpenes come along with it and it's infused with the oils. I make my brownies with my own special blend of cannabutter. I'm in the process of adjusting my recipes so that you can barely taste the cannabis. I am a chef, after all. I can make an edible but I should make sure it tastes good!"

"Absolutely!" Pinkie shouted.

"But go easy on the edibles. They are very potent. The THC- that's the stuff that get's you high- it's more concentrated in food and you absorb a lot more by eating it than smoking it."

"Wow, you're so fascinating," Twilight cheered. "I bet you read a lot of books!"

"You would be correct in assuming that! I love science and I love the science in cooking. I'll read anything about it, and believe me there are a lot of books about it!"

"Yeah but do you read Daring Doo books?" Rainbow Dash questioned.

"Well, when I'm not reading to learn I do like a good adventure and the Daring Doo series delivers that, and more! You should read the books, high! It is so rad!"

"Vanilla Kush," Rainbow started as she held her arm around Vanilla. "I think you and I are gonna get along just fine!"

The girls laughed at Rainbow's remark. Rarity was too busy looking at the hemp swatches to notice their reverie. She fetched a box from her closet.

"This fabric is very… sturdy," she said aloud to Vanilla. "And the colors are a tad dull. It appears these would be perfect for making army fatigues! I suppose I could dye them. How do they fare with dyes, dear?"

"They fare quite nicely actually," Vanilla said approaching her. "It doesn't look like you got the other samples. We can make these thinner and less coarse. You know the dress my mother wore? That was hemp."

"Really," Rarity said. "She did look rather bold in that see through dress."

"Yeah my mom is a free spirit," Vanilla said taking out a pad and pencil. "I'll put in an order for a roll of something less bold. I can get my folks to give them too you for free, if you're willing to show off a few hemp designs?"

"Why certainly! I'll even put on a show with a cannabis theme!"

"Hey, there, Rarity," Applejack said. "Whatcha got in the box?"

"Oh, I bought this to impress a pony from Sattle Arabia. He was quite fetching and quite rich! However, he was also quite interested in another pony."

She unboxed a black crystal shisha.

"Oh, wow Rarity," Fluttershy said. "I didn't know you were an exotic smoker."

"Please, darling, I never even used the thing. I was going to for 'him' but I much rather use it with my friends!"

Vanilla prepped the shisha for them.

Meanwhile the Cutie Mark Crusaders were about to be well underway with their experience with cannabis.

"So we just eat these cookies and we get high?" Scootaloo asked Strawberry Kush.

"Yuh huh," she responded. "But it takes forever!"

"But I don't want to wait," Applebloom said falling to her back in disappointment.

"Yeah, sorry girls," Strawberry said. "I have some nice buds here but I don't have anything to smoke it out of."

"It's okay," Sweetie Belle said. "Rarity said we're too young to smoke anyways.

"I have a lighter," said Babs with her strong Manehatten accent. "And if you can get me an apple, aluminum foil, and a knife, I can make a pipe!"

"I'll go grab the stuff," shouted Sweeite Belle.

"Wow, Babs," said Applebloom. "You sure are mighty resourceful! I didn't think you could turn an apple into a pipe."

"Yuh huh," agreed Strawberry Kush. "I just never learned how to make one."

"Hey, Babs," said Scootaloo. "How did you learn how to make one?"

"Well," she started. "Okay, you remember how I told you, Applebloom, about that kid who sold this stuff. Well, he was my boyfriend. He taught me everything about selling it and smoking it. That is, before he got caught and sent away to some boarding school."

"Whoa," said a stunned Applebloom.

Sweetie Belle just returned with the supplies.

"What did I miss?" she said giving Babs the items needed.

"Oh nothing much," Scotaloo said. "Just that Babs was a drug dealer and she dated some big time drug dealer that got sent to jail!"

"Wow," Sweetie Belle said. "Was he cute?"

"Whoa, so you knew about marijuana all this time?" Applebloom addressed.

"Yeah. But I never touched the stuff again after he got caught."

Babs fashioned the apple into a functioning pipe with effortless precision.

"And boom. All done, see?"

"Wow, Babs, you're amazing," Strawberry said.

"Yeah, you can make a pipe out of anything. Even a cupcake!"

"Awesome," Scootaloo said as she took it. "But how do you use it?"

Strawberry Kush held the apple pipe up to Scootaloo's muzzle. The foil was pressed against the walls of the hole where some of the core used to be. Strawberry crushed a few more buds on to the foil. Babs, then ignited the buds. Strawberry told Scootaloo to inhale deeply. Scootaloo tried her hardest to hold in the smoke for as long as she could without coughing. She imagined if Rainbow Dash was watching her. She successfully exhaled without coughing.

The crusaders all passed the apple pipe for a few rounds. Sweetie Belle's room was filled with the odor and smoke of marijuana. Strawberry was the last to pull from the pipe before setting it down. She then sat back into the seat she was in, sinking into the cushions. She did not say a word. For five more minutes, nopony said a word. Each of the crusaders were lost in a blissful euphoria. Aside from Strawberry Kush and Babs who were relaxed and calm but attentive, it was unlike anything they've ever experienced.

"Yeah, I know right?" said Sweetie Belle.

"What?" answered Applebloom.

"Huh?" Sweetie Belle responded, dazed and confused.

All of the girls looked at each other and laughed. The laughing was high pitched and contagious. The girls were feeling silly and playful. They continued to attempt a conversation but the giggling interrupted the chance for that.

Downstairs more giggling and laughing can be heard.

"Oh my goodness," Rarity exclaimed. "I feel so comfortable in my own skin." Rarity felt and rubbed herself, enjoying the sensation of her hooves touching her. Spike watched with great interest. As she was touching her body Spike's claws scratched the arms of the chair he was sitting in.

"Me too, girls," Fluttershy muttered while beginning to float. "I feel like I'm flying!"

"Fluttershy, you are flying," said Vanilla Kush.

"Yeah, totally. You get it!" Fluttershy responded as she continued to float around the room upside down.

"Well Ah feel kinda sleepy," Applejack said through a yawn. "Is that normal?"

"Sometimes it can make you tired," said Vanilla. "It can be used as a sleeping aid."

"What about hungry?" questioned Pinkie Pie.

"That too," Vanilla answered.

"I am like so super duper hungry," Pinkie Pie said sliding out of her seat to the floor.

"I have some cupcakes in the fridge downstairs, darling," Rarity said. "You're more than welcomed to them! That goes for all of you beautiful gorgeous ponies. And I can't forget my Spikey Wikey with his wittle chubby wubby cheeky weekies," Rarity said as she picked Spike up by the face and started petting him as if he was a cat.

"Hmm… I'm actually not in the mood for sweets."

Everyone besides Vanilla Kush gasped.

"What?"

"Pinkie Pie, all you eat are sweets," Twilight said.

"I do? Wow, I hadn't noticed! Well right now I can go for a double decker hay burger with the works and lots and lots of fries and tacos!"

"Tacos?" Twilight questioned.

"Yeah, tacos! With sour cream and nacho cheese! MMMmmm!"

"Sounds like you have a major case of the munchies," Vanilla said.

"Me too acsully…" Twilight muttered. "Apsully… acsually… axsu… ME TOO!"

Everypony laughed at Twilight's verbal blunder. Twilight smiled but still showed an embarrassed expression.

"Well, after a laugh like that I could certainly go for a bite," Rarity said.

"Totally!" Fluttershy agreed.

"Ah think Ah'm gonna hang back right here," Applejack said as she tilted her hat over her eyes. "Ya'll don't mind if Ah rest a spell or two. And bring me back somethin' while ya'll at it, huh?"

"Okie dokie, lazy bones!" Pinkie said as she bounced outside of the room.

"Very well, darling, but remember the kids are upstairs," Rarity said as she put Spike in Opalescence's carry on bag. Spike called her attention but she did not respond. She continued to exit the room with the rest of the ponies.


	3. Chapter 3

Twilight and the rest started their way to The Hay Burger. On their way they took a look at the citizens of Ponyville as some of them were under the influence of marijuana. Ponies were in the street walking by with joints in their mouths. There was a circle of ponies passing a pipe around and conversing on life's greatest ponders. Vinyl Scratch gave an impromptu performance for ponies eager to cut loose. Ponyville was under a spell of peace and blissful existence.

The girls finally approached The Hay Burger. It was very busy. It seems that many other ponies had the munchies as well. Twilight and Vanilla received their orders at the counter and grabbed a table for their party. Twilight was still embarrassed by her verbal blunder from earlier. She figured this would be a good time to clear the air. She did not want Vanilla to think she wasn't smart.

"Hey, Vanilla," Twilight started.

"Yeah, Twilight?" she responded as she unwrapped her burger.

"Hey, I don't want you to think that- Well, what I'm trying to say is that, well, I'm actually pretty smart. I read books, like, all of the time."

Twilight unwrapped her burger. She picked it up but it was upside down. She took a bite leaving a mess all over her face. She has a knack for doing that with her food.

"Books are my thing," she continued oblivious of how she appeared. "I mean aside from being the Princess of Friendship. I love to study and research. I love to learn."

"Yeah, um, Twilight-," Vanilla tried to interject.

Twilight went on "I mean, besides the other Princesses, I'm like the smartest pony I know, besides you of course. You're so smart!"

"Uh thanks, but I think you should know-"

"Oh, hold that thought. I have to visit the little fillies' room."

Twilight galloped off to the restroom. She passed a couple of fillies that took a look at her and snickered. Twilight didn't think much of it. After Twilight relieved herself she came to the mirror. She did not look up at her reflection. Another pony came out of one of the stalls and saw Twilight's reflection in the mirror. As she quickly washed her hooves she tried to hold in her laughter but was far from coy about it. She quickly left to let out a loud laugh. Twilight looked up at her as she left, confused by the odd behavior.

"I wonder what's so gosh darn funny?" she said. Twilight turned to her reflection and quickly solved the mystery. She splash water on her face and wiped the ketchup and mustard from her muzzle. She was greatly embarrassed. She was too embarrassed to leave the bathroom. All she could think about was how ridiculous she must've looked in front of Vanilla Kush. In a panic Twilight zipped into a stall and locked it behind her. She sat on the toilet holding her hooves swaying back and forth imagining that the whole Hay Burger knows how stupid she looks.

Meanwhile back at the table, the rest of the ponies joined Vanilla. They all sat down and began eating their food. Rarity was still proper enough to wear a napkin before eating. Before she could take her first bite, an employee of the Hay Burger came over with Rarity's bag.

"Hey, excuse me ma'am? You forgot your cat!" he said.

"My what?" Rarity responded. She looked at the bag to see that Spike was still in Opalescence's carry on bag.

"Spikey Wikey! What ever are you doing in there, darling?"

"Uh, you put me in here," Spike jeered.

"Oh Spike, you should've said something, dear," Rarity said undoing the lock. "Here, sit with me."

Rarity levitated Spike into her arms. She began to stroke his scales again.

"Oh Spikey Wikey. I do love your scales. A nice polish and you'll look like a sequined hat!"

"I should like this," Spike said under his breath. "I should, but it's creeping me out."

"Hey," Rainbow Dash said with food still in her mouth. "Where's um,... uh… the um,...where's freakin'..."

"Twilight?" Vanilla answered.

"Yeah! I was gonna say like, purple butt or something."

"Don't you mean Princess Purple Butt?" Pinkie Pie said with her mouth full of hay burger.

"She went to the bathroom. She should be back by now."

"Vanilla, dear," Rarity started as she wiped her muzzle with dainty poise. "You simply must tell me. Is your uncle single?"

Spike jumped from Rarity's arms as soon as she said that. He waddled toward the bathroom.

"Uncle Silver? Well, yeah he is, but you might be too young for him."

"Age ain't nothing but a number," Fluttershy yelled as she continued to eat her burger.

Everypony looked at her in surprise.

"Well, I could maybe put in a word for you," Vanilla said.

"Me too?" Fluttershy spurted. "I mean it's okay if he doesn't like me. We can be friends. It's fine. I'm down for, like, whatever."

Everypony gave Fluttershy another surprised look.

"Fluttershy! How forward of you!" Rarity said.

"Really? I think it's the buds. It has me feeling… acceptable! Like I finally can be heard and everything is like, love, y'know? Hey, do you still need a fifth for the Ponytones? I can like so, totally do it, now!"

"Ooh, let's chat about that later."

Spike went toward the bathroom area. Spike was upset that after Rarity gave him so much attention she still would pursue another. He was beginning to resent Rarity. But the thought of resenting her bothered him. He decided to splash his face to calm down. After washing his face and drying his claws he was on his way back to the table. Two ponies came out of the girl's bathroom talking about a crying pony in one of the stalls. Spike feared it was Twilight.

Spike snuck unto the girl's bathroom. Fortunately for him nopony else was in there. Nopony except for an upset pony in a locked stall.

"Twilight?" Spike called.

"Spike?" Twilight responded with a sad voice. "Is that you? What're you doing here?"

"I heard there was somepony crying in here and we haven't seen you in a while. Are you okay?"

"Oh, Spike. I am such a loser."

"What?"

"I completely humiliated myself in front of Vanilla. Twice! She must think I'm an idiot. I had mustard and ketchup all over my face and I can barely talk straight to her. I am totally failing as the smart organized pony I usually am. I am failing as a princess."

"Twilight, you're embarrassed because of that? Seriously?"

"Spike, you just don't understand!"

"Well, sure I do. You're trying to get Vanilla to like you."

Twilight was struck silent.

"I know exactly how that feels. Putting so much work into making sure they like you and just when you think that you're winning, they turn around and leave you for some other pony."

"Spike…"

Twilight unlocked the stall door and hugged her dear friend. Twilight understood what he meant. She felt sorry for Spike and hugging him made her feel better.

"Don't worry, Spike. It'll work out for you in the end!"

"Yeah. You're right! I just need to work harder. And don't worry Twilight. I think Vanilla likes you already. You're just trying too hard!"

"Yeah, you're right, Spike. Thanks for calming me down. You truly are the world's greatest assistant!"

Twilight and Spike exited the bathroom together to join their friends. After they all ate they went back to Rarity's home to give Applejack her food. Everypony entered Rarity's home and could hear a bunch of noise coming from upstairs. Rainbow Dash saw that Applejack was still asleep in the same spot they left her. Rarity, Twilight, and Vanilla went upstairs to investigate the noise. It was the Cutie Mark Crusaders and they were all dancing and jumping around Sweetie Belle's room.

"Hey big sister," Sweetie Belle greeted. "Wanna dance with us?"

"Is Rainbow Dash here?" Scootaloo eagerly asked. "I wanna show her my moves!"

"What is the meaning of all this commotion?" Rarity asked.

Vanilla went over to her little sister, Strawberry Kush. Strawberry was sitting in her chair with her hooves behind her back. Vanilla dug for what Strawberry was hiding. It was the weed that they've smoked earlier. Vanilla sniffed to see what they had.

"It looks like they've been smoking a sativa strain," Vanilla Kush declared. "It gives you an energetic high. Strawberry Kush was NOT supposed to have it."

"Yuh huh," Strawberry said in a pitiful tone.

"Sweetie Belle, you were smoking?" Rarity asked. "You girls know better than that."

"She's right, you know," Twilight chimed in. "Applebloom and Babs Seed, what would Applejack think if she saw you smoking? You too, Scootaloo. I don't think Rainbow Dash would think it very cool of you if she saw you girls smoking."

The Cutie Mark Crusaders and their new recruits all apologized for their actions. They all went downstairs to join the rest. Applejack was awake and eating the food that they brought back for her. Twilight told her what they've done but that they were sorry for it.

"Well y'all just better not do it again," Applejack said sternly.

"Hey Vanilla," Twilight asked. "Is it okay for kids to get high?"

"Well, the short answer is no," Vanilla started. "My mother can give you the science on the matter and what getting high can do to a developing brain. But it isn't good."

"But mom and dad let me get high before," said Strawberry.

"That was for your birthday."

"Wait," Applejack said. "Ah'm confused. Is it or is it not okay for kids to get high off this stuff?"

"On occasion, like maybe 3 times a year, its fine for most kids. I got high at her age maybe 3 or 4 times a year before I became old enough to get high regularly. That was like a year or so after I graduated from high school. I'll be honest. There were times I may have done what Strawberry and the girls have done without my parents knowing."

"Well I'm old enough," Pinkie said hopping up and down.

"And you girls are not," Applejack added.

"Nope," said Applebloom. "But I sure am tired."

"Yeah, me too," Babs Seed said with a yawn.

"Sounds like you fillies are coming down from your high," Vanilla stated. "It's been a few hours. We all should be coming down."

"Not me," Pinkie said as she laying on her back bracing herself. "I feel like I'm going for another ride!"

"Pinkie Pie, you did eat all of those edibles," Twilight said.

"Which reminds me, I'm still hungry!"

"Um, can we, um, have some more please?" Fluttershy asked. "I really liked being high."

"Well, you guys can share this little jar I have with me," Vanilla said as she gave Rarity the jar. "Call it a gift for inviting us over."

Rarity packed decorative little sacks of the dried buds and distributed them amongst themselves. They then proceeded to leave and part their separate ways. Vanilla and Strawberry Kush were leaving when Twilight stopped them.

"Hey, Vanilla," Twilight started. "Do you think we can hang out tomorrow?"

"Sure," Vanilla responded. "Why don't you come over for dinner and meet my family? We live right past the first big lake heading towards Manehattan. It's kind of off a beaten trail but you can literally smell our farm for miles. Just follow your nose!"

"Okay see you then. C'mon Spike. I can't wait to write to Princess Celestia about this!"

Spike and Twilight made their way to the Friendship Rainbow Kingdom castle. Once they arrived and settled in, Twilight immediately started to write her letter to Celestia.

[center]Dear Princess Celestia

Today Ponyville welcomed five new ponies and they brought with them a special crop. It's called Cannabis. There are many uses for it but everyone seems to enjoy the high you get from it. I was quite fond of the feeling myself when I tried it with my friends. Vanilla Kush is one of the ponies that introduced it to us. She is quite knowledgeable of cannabis and very kind. I think I would be seeing a lot more of her.

More importantly, the mayor has agreed with the Kush family to allow Ponyville to give cannabis a trial. In a few days we will find out if Ponyville will accept the Kush family and the cultivation of cannabis for the town. I hope to be there to help mediate the decision. I shall inform your grace as to when that will take place. We would love for the Celestial Princesses to witness history in the making.

Forever, your faithful student

Princess Twilight Sparkle[/center]

"Spike," Twilight called. "Can you send this off?"

"Yeah, sure," Spike said as he was about to light a small pipe.

Spike rolled the parchment and blew his flame on it, sending it off to the Solar Princess.

"Were you about to smoke again?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, you want to join?"

"Oh, why not."

The two proceeded to smoke the pipe together passing it back and forth.

"Does that really help your back?" Twilight asked.

"Well, if anything it helps me forget about it," Spike said. "Are you feeling it yet?"

"I don't know. Are you?"

"I think so. I'm not sure. Oh wait, I think I'm starting to feel it."

Spike soon belched out a scroll. It was a response from Princess Celestia.

"Oh its just a message. You wanna read it, Twilight? Twilight?"

"Spike, what if I was green? Sometimes I wish I were white like Rarity. Vanilla has such a pretty coat. Do you think she's pretty?"

"Wow, you are baked!"

"Baked?"

"I heard somepony at the Hay Burger say it. You got a response from Twilight. I mean Celestia!"

"Read it to me, please, Spike."

"Sure thing, your highness," Spike said in a sarcastic tone. "Dearest Twilight, I'm afraid you and Ponyville might not understand to gravity of how troublesome cann-"

Princess Luna abruptly came in and burned the letter Spike was reading, destroying the message Celestia sent.

"Princess Twilight, you're a Princess now," Luna started. "It is time you took charge and start acting like one."

Luna took the last drag from the pipe Spike and Twilight was sharing. As swiftly as she appeared, she left their presence, leaving both Twilight and Spike stunned beyond words.

"Whoa," Spike said breaking the silence. "Far out."


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning Spike woke up to find Twilight pacing back and forth. She was talking to herself about what Celestia meant to say in that message. Spike could see that she has written many scrolls ready to be sent off.

"Twilight are you oka-"

"Spike," Twilight delightedly interrupted. "Great, you finally woke up. I need you to send these to Princess Celestia immediately, starting with this one."

Spike took another look at the pile.

"Twilight, there has to be over 30 messages here."

"Then we better get started. Princess Celestia has to know about what Luna did last night. She was obviously trying to warn me about cannabis. I thought I could inform her about it by sending her everything I've learned about it. So I stayed up all night researching the book Vanilla gave me. She needs to know about it, Spike. Something tells me Princess Luna might know something about this and if she's up to something we all need to get to the bottom of it. So let's hurry, Spike"

Spike began to pack a bowl instead of helping Twilight.

"Twilight, as your assistant I must say that this is way too excessive," Spike said. "Even for you."

Twilight took his words to heart when she looked at the pile of letters.

"Gosh Spike. You got me again! What was I thinking? I'm just worried Spike. What if this is all wrong? What if we're playing with fire?"

Twilight then remembered the words Luna left her last night about acting like a princess. She has not been stepping up to her role in this matter as much as she should've.

"I think I have an idea, Spike," Twilight said. "Why don't we do some more studying with this stuff?"

"More research?" Spike said after inhaling his first puff.

"Field research. This time we'll study our friends."

"Okay, do you want me to go get them?"

"No Spike. We have to do this right. We are going to observe them from afar in their natural environment. That is the only way we're going to get clear, concise, and accurate results."

"Whatever you say, Professor Princess Twilight Sparkle," Spike saluted.

Twilight and Spike gathered material to initiate their observation experiment. The goal was to study her friends more closely succumbing to the effects of cannabis. Their first subject was Rainbow Dash.

Twilight and Spike teleported to Rainbow Dash's cloud house. They appeared in her room. Fortunately for them Rainbow Dash was sleeping.

"So, wait," Spike said.

"Shh, we have to be quiet, Spike" Twilight whispered.

"Oh, right. But how or we going to observe her unnoticed while standing in the middle of her room?"

"I'm going to cast an invisibility spell on us. Stand still."

Twilight then casted the spell making them invisible to all who can see. They weren't even able to see their claws or hooves in front of them.

"This is so cool," Spike said loudly.

"Yeah? Did somepony say cool?" Rainbow said half awake. She looked around to see if anyone was there but could not see Spike and Twilight in front of her. She yawned and got out of bed and floated over to the bathroom.

"Psst, hey Twilight," Spike called.

"What, Spike?" Twilight responded slightly annoyed.

"If we're in a cloud house and you use the toilet, where does the stuff go? Does Rainbow Dash have plumbing in here or does it just fall to the ground?"

"Shhh, here she comes."

Rainbow Dash came out of the bathroom and went over to her desk. She seemed to have acquired a bong and a torch to smoke her cannabis. She prepared the bowl and took a long toke of the smoke, then exhaled slowly.

"Oh yeah," she said. "That's the stuff!"

Rainbow Dash soon went out of her room to go to her kitchen. Twilight and Spike quickly followed her. When they all arrived in her kitchen, Rainbow Dash floated in the air in one place. She then decided to go back to her room. Again, Twilight and Spike followed her. They watched as Rainbow Dash sat on her bed looking straight ahead.

"What was I doing?" Rainbow Dash asked herself. "Oh yeah, that's right. Duh! I knew I came back in here for something."

Rainbow Dash began setting up her projector. She brought out a box of reels. A lot of them were Wonderbolts routines and promotional reels. She inserted a reel with no label on it. She began to play it. It showed somepony holding a clapperboard. When "Action" was called the routine started and ended quickly in comedic fashion. Rainbow Dash laughed aloud. Another take began and a different comedic outcome occurred. Rainbow Dash continued to laugh at the reel. It seemed that Rainbow Dash was playing a blooper reel of the Wonderbolts. Spike found this very amusing but Twilight was too focused on Rainbow's behavior.

"Now what was I doing before this?" Rainbow Dash continued to converse with herself. She then realized that she was going to the kitchen to fix herself breakfast. She quickly prepared herself a bowl of cereal and zipped back to her room before Twilight and Spike could follow her. Rainbow Dash sat on the floor in front of the projector screen eating her cereal and enjoying her blooper reel. She was about to take a spoonful of cereal when she realized she was holding Tank, her turtle. She poured cereal and milk over him thinking he was an empty bowl."

"Oops, sorry, um,... uh… Tank! Yeah, sorry buddy. I thought you were food."

Rainbow Dash quickly washed him up and grabbed an appropriate bowl of cereal so she could continue watching bloopers. Twilight and Spike stayed and observed for a while before they decided to leave.

Once Twilight and Spike were back on the ground the spell ceased and they were visible again. They headed towards Apple Acres. On the way there, Twilight wrote down her observations from studying Rainbow Dash while Spike recalled the image of Spitfire splitting the bottom of her uniform and laughing about it.

"Funny stuff is like 10 times more funnier when you're high," Spike said laughing.

"Yeah, I've noticed," said sarcastically by a slightly annoyed Twilight.

"So we're doing Applejack next?"

"Yeah," Twilight said looking at the orchards. "It's strange, but usually Applejack would have this orchard harvested already."

The two continued to the Apple Barn house. As they approached they could hear loud rock music coming from the Apple home. They hurried to see what the commotion was.

They stopped at the front door.

"Are we gonna go invisible again," said Spike as he readied himself to receive the spell's power.

"I don't think so," Twilight said concerned. "I can hear yelling. Something could be wrong. Let's go in, Spike!"

The two darted through the front door and headed toward the source of the noise. They ran upstairs and found Granny Smith knocking on Big Macintosh's door. Applebloom was with her trying to get her attention by talking with her but Granny Smith ignored her. Twilight approached them to see what was wrong.

"GRANNY SMITH," Twilight yelled. "IS EVERYTHING OKAY?"

Twilight's voice could not reach Granny Smith. Applebloom was able to notice her, instead. Applebloom approached Twilight.

"APPLEBLOOM, WHAT'S GOING ON?"

Applebloom could not make out what Twilight was saying. Applebloom interpreted that to her by using her hoofs and making facial expressions.

Twilight then remembered a spell she could use. She formed a impenetrable bubble around her, Spike, Applebloom, and Granny Smith. It blocked out the loud music so that they could talk to each other.

"-Land sakes, Big Mac, TURN DOWN THAT RACKET!" yelled an oblivious Granny Smith. "Well ain't that a kick in the dentures. I can hear m'self, again."

"Yup," said Applebloom as she trotted and hopped around Granny Smith with joy and delight. "And it's all thanks to Princess Twilight!"

"Twilight!" Granny said turning her attention to her. "Aren't you a sight for sorry sore eyes? I ain't get a lick of sleep last night."

"How come, Granny. Why is Big Mac playing loud music."

"It's that wacky tobacky he's been smokin', I tell ya!"

"Oh c'mon Granny," Applebloom contested. "It ain't all that bad!"

"Yeah it is! It made Big Mac all noisy and Applejack all sleepy. She ain't been out her room all mornin'. Not one of em' been out their rooms to do any of the chores. When Applejack brought that stuff home yesterday, I didn't think it would cause all this here fussin' but this just ain't gonna work out!"

"Where's Babs Seed," Spike questioned.

"She went into town already," Applebloom responded. "She wanted to meet and talk with the Kush's today about somethin'. We're gonna meet up with her later!"

Twilight took all of this into consideration. This was the sort of evidence she was looking for. If she can investigate this issue further and find that cannabis has caused Big Mac to be rude and Applejack to be lazy, then she would see what Celestia was trying to warn her about. Then maybe she can remedy a solution for the Apple family.

"Well, now that it's quiet," Applebloom started. "I really think I should mention that-"

"Ok, Spike," Twilight said interrupting Applebloom. "Let's go talk to Applejack first."

Twilight teleported her and Spike into Applejack's room. There they saw Applejack asleep in her bed with a nightshade and earmuffs. She appeared to be snoring but her snores cannot be heard over the blaring music. Twilight shoved her sleeping apple-bucking friend. Applejack slowly came to. She lifted her nightshade as her eyes crept open. She saw Twilight standing over her and talking. Applejack removed her earmuffs to hear what she had to say but could hear nothing but loud electric guitar riffs. She soon realized what was going on.

Applejack climbed out of her bed and walked out of her room. Granny Smith was still in the bubble Twilight created with Applebloom. She immediately began calling out to Applejack but Applejack paid her no attention. She continued adamantly marching towards Big Mac's room. Applejack bucked the door down. She saw Big Mac and Cheerilee lying on their backs staring at the ceiling. Applejack walked over to Big Mac's record player and unplugged it. Big Mac and Cheerilee were surprised by the sudden silence. They saw Applejack standing over them with the record player on her back. She did not look pleased. Cheerilee quickly darted out of the room heading towards the nearest exit. Applejack was still looking at Big Mac with eyes filled with displeasure.

"Go buy some headphones," Applejack sternly said. "Only then will Ah give this back." Applejack then walked out of his room and closed the door behind her.

"Ah'm sorry, there Twilight. What can I do ya for?"

Twilight was so stunned by her actions that she lost concentration of the bubble spell and it popped, freeing Granny Smith and Applebloom.

"Now, you listen here, missy," fussed Granny Smith. "You all gonna stop with this here nonsense and get yer lazy flanks in gear! Y'all are behind on y'all's chores today."

"Today? Granny don't y'all remember today was our day off?"

"Day off? Today?"

"That's what I've been tryin' to tell you, Granny!" yelled Applebloom.

"Oh my. I done plumb fergot," Granny said. "But that still doesn't excuse BIG MAC FROM PLAYING HIS MUSIC SO LOUD!"

Big Mac suddenly came out of the room hanging his head.

"Ah'm sorry," he said in his baritone voice. He then proceeded to leave carrying a bag of bits.

"Now what was it you wanted to tell me, Twilight?"

Back in Applejack's room Twilight and Spike watched Applejack as she climbed back into her bed.

"Hey, Applejack, how is cannabis treating you?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, I reckon it helps me out, here and there."

"What do you mean?" Spike asked.

"This stuff gots more kick than any ol' glass of warm milk," Applejack said as she took a hit from her pipe. "Knocks me, right out! Before, I couldn't get to sleep fer nothin'. But with this here cannabis, I sawed more logs than Rainbow Dash!"

"How does Big Mac react to it?" Twilight asked.

"Oh you should've seen him. All he does is imitate Hinny Hendrix. That's his favorite musician 'n' such. Today he probably got a bit outta hoof."

Twilight and Spike looked at each other with confused expressions.

"Why the questions anyway?"

"We're just, uh, doing a survey," Twilight said. "Y'know, for science!"

"Welp, y'all have fun with that. If'n y'all don't mind, I wanna enjoy the rest of my sleep. Night!"

Twilight and Spike left the Apple home.

"Gee, talk about a major misunderstanding," Spike commented. "Did we get what we needed from that?"

"Yeah, we actually did, Spike," Twilight said finishing her notes. "C'mon, Fluttershy is next."


	5. Chapter 5

Twilight and Spike approached Fluttershy's tree cottage. Their field research continues with Fluttershy being the next subject. Twilight is determined to find out if cannabis is harmful or not. Hopefully Fluttershy will offer some clues.

"Okay Spike," Twilight started. "We're gonna go invisible, again."

"Wait, Twilight," Spike said halting their trek. "I hear music."

"Oh no, not again."

"Why don't we just peek into her window?"

"Yeah. I've never known Fluttershy to play music this loudly. Is that… cabaret music? I wonder if she's smoking. Do you remember her acting weird yesterday?"

"Sorta. She was more social than usual but nothing I wouldn't worry about."

"Yeah, I agree. C'mon let's see what's going on."

Twilight and Spike found a window where they can spy on the timid pony. However, the sight surprised them. Fluttershy was dancing provocatively with a chair to an audience of forest critters. The critters shared a confused and shocked look to the act. Twilight and Spike were no different. The routine came to an end when Fluttershy stole a move from her good friend, Discord, by pulling a cord to splash a bucket of water on herself in the chair and finishing with a pose.

"Um, Twilight?" Spike whispered. "At some point, you're going to have to explain to me what I just saw."

"When you're older," she responded.

"Fair enough."

"There," Fluttershy said panting. "Well, what did you think? I was going for 'artful display of pent-up sexual expression.'"

The forest critters just sat there, some looking off into another direction. The bear was the only critter that applauded.

"Oh thank you, my lovelies. I'm just trying out new things and I'm finding it to be such an invigorating experience. And it's all thanks to this glorious gift from nature herself!"

Fluttershy flew over to her water pipe. She packed it with the weed she was gifted by Vanilla. Once packed, she held up her pipe as if she was presenting it to the heavens.

"Oh glorious Mother Nature, I burn the fruit of this harvest so that I may consume its essence and be one with you. I mean, if that's okay with you! If not, then I'm sorry I bothered you."

Fluttershy took a long hard hit from her pipe, totally incinerating the entire contents of the bowl. She held in her smoke for 13 seconds before exhaling. Spike was so impressed by the sight he didn't notice his mouth was agape.

"Okay Spike," Twilight said casting her invisibility spell. "We're going in for a closer investigation."

The two walked around to the front door. Spike peeked through the keyhole to check if the coast was clear so that they could teleport into Fluttershy's doorway.

"We're all clear, Twilight."

"Good, remember, once we're in we have to be quiet. I think we're going to learn a lot from Fluttershy. She isn't the type to go out and socialize so we'll have plenty of time to-"

"Look out, Equestria," Fluttershy yelled bursting through her door slamming Twilight and Spike into the bushes. "Fluttershy is here and she wants to say 'hello!'"

Fluttershy floated away carrying her satchel and singing a happy tune as Twilight and Spike recovered from their fall.

"This is not the Fluttershy we know," Twilight, said slightly concerned. "We gotta catch up with her."

"Right behind you boss," said Spike.

The two followed Fluttershy as she made her way into Ponyville. Twilight and Spike stayed close to her, watching her every move. They first saw her approach a patch of wild flowers. She sat and chatted with them, complimenting them on their vibrant colors and irresistible aroma. Fluttershy continued on her way. She said hello to everypony she saw. Bulk Biceps was flying by and Fluttershy stopped to talk to him. Twilight and Spike eavesdropped on their conversation.

"What are they saying?" Spike whispered. "Are they making out?"

"Shh. I'm trying to listen!" Twilight hushed.

"...So if you're not doing anything later maybe I can come over and we can talk about stuff and junk. Maybe get a little high and see where nature takes us!"

Bulk Biceps nodded eagerly to the idea Fluttershy proposed.

"Then it's a date! See you later Bulk Biceps and thanks for being such a sweetie!"

"Whoa," Twilight exclaimed. "Fluttershy just asked him out!"

"No way," Spike said taking a look by hopping on the back of Twilight's neck.

They saw the two ponies part ways. Fluttershy was finally heading into Ponyville. It was the afternoon and ponies everywhere were out and about taking care of personal business, meeting other ponies for lunch, or just enjoying another warm sunny day. The rest were waiting in a long line at a stand.

It was The Kush family and they were busy selling more goods to the citizens of Ponyville. Even Mayor Mare was in line, eager to get her hooves on some edibles. Fluttershy immediately found her spot in line. She tapped the pony in front of her and gave the stranger a hug. "You're so special," Fluttershy said to her. The pony immediately began to cry as Fluttershy continued to console her.

"How did she know-" Twilight started. "Spike, did you see that? Spike?"

Spike did not answer to Twilight's call. He wasn't near Twilight at all. The invisibility spell was still in effect. In order to find him again she would have to release the spell. Reluctantly, Twilight released the spell in the open, in front of a pony walking by.

"Whoa!" said the pony. "Well, that lady did say I might hallucinate smoking this stuff. I can live with cute purple ponies floating around."

"I'm not a... forget it," Twilight grumbled. "I have to find Spike fast before he blows this whole operation."

Twilight looked around to find the baby dragon. Twilight finally found him in line a few ponies behind Fluttershy.

"Spike the Dragon!" Twilight yelled.

"Uh Oh," Spike said with a cringe. "I must've did something wrong."

"There you are! Do you have any idea-"

"Twilight?" Fluttershy called. "And Spike, too! The universe is smiling on us! How wonderful for us to meet here all at the same time! Are you here to get more buds?"

"Actually I want to try the edibles," Spike said.

"Spike!" Twilight nudged "Our mission?"

"Yeah, listen, Twilight. I'm going to take a break here. Aside from cannabis stuff there is more stuff I need to pick up for us, and since we're already here…"

"Well, okay, fine. Just be sure to pick me up some lemon tea."

"Yeah, I'll be sure to do that if this line will go any faster."

"Yeah," Fluttershy added. "It does seem slow. You think maybe we can help them move faster?"

"Yeah, that's a great idea," Spike cheered.

"C'mon, Twilight. I'm sure Vanilla will be happy to see us."

"Yeah," Twilight said with a nervous laugh.

Twilight's mood was immediately lifted at the thought of Vanilla Kush. She left a big impression on Twilight, yesterday. Twilight continued to live in the moment of thinking fondly of her new friend. But she soon remembered the task at hand. It was then a grave thought came across her mind. If cannabis is proven to do more harm than good then Twilight might not be able to see Vanilla Kush or her family again. What was more important to her, a new friend or the fate of Ponyville? Twilight knew a difficult decision would have to be made soon. In the meantime she followed Spike and Fluttershy to the front of the line to offer a helping hoof.

All of the Kush family was present, struggling to service a long line of customers. Golden and Silver Kush were manning to stands on one side while Vanilla and Strawberry helped on another side. Aurora Indica offered diagnoses to customers, as well. Vanilla saw Twilight and the others. She smiled and waved at them. Twilight blushed and hasted over to her.

"Hey Twilight," Vanilla happily greeted. "It's great to see you. I wish I can chat with you now but as you can see, business is good!"

"Oh Vanilla," Fluttershy said hovering. "It looks like you beautiful ponies could use some help. Can we please lend a hoof, pretty please?"

"My friends," Golden Kush said with a welcoming half smile. "Help is always appreciated. If you may, my lovely wife can use your help young pegasister and you purplely folks can help us out here."

Twilight sided with Vanilla, naturally. She and Spike helped take orders while Fluttershy played nurse to Aurora. They had a lot in common and chatted the whole time with each other. With their help they were able to clear the crowds in about half an hour. They took a break after serving Derpy Hooves a bag of medicated muffins.

"Whew, that was a rush," said a tuckered out Silver.

"Indeed it was, my friend," added Golden. "And we still have a bit left over. Here, why don't you helpful folks take your pick of what's left as thanks for helping us out. You deserve it!"

"Sweet!" cheered Spike. "I'll take these and these and some of those. Oh and a bag of whatever this stuff is. I like the color."

"That's a special strain we've been perfecting for years, my friend. Tell him about it Silver."

"We don't have a name for it yet but it is a very potent Indica strain. This is the first time we had it for sale."

"You guys should call it Dragon's Fire," Spike said. "Because it looks like the color of my fire, see?"

Spike blew a small ball of green fire to show the Kush's what he meant.

"Dragon's Fire, huh?" Golden Kush said rubbing the stubble on his chin. "My friend, I think that might be a fantastic idea."

Vanilla finished wiping the counters of the stand and chatting with Twilight.

"So Twilight," Vanilla started "Are you still coming over for dinner tonight? I'm making Strawberry's favorite: Grilled brussel sprouts!"

"I wouldn't miss it, Vanilla," Twilight responded.

Vanilla Kush gave a smile to Twilight. A message was behind that smile. A sense of excitement. Twilight could see that. It was as if the message wasn't what made her smile but the fact that Twilight said it. It was warm and anxious. This caused Twilight to blush and her heart to speed it's pace. But a flash of Luna appeared in her mind and she soon came back to her senses.

Twilight spoke up, "But if I want to make it in time, there are some things I have to hurry and get done, first!"

"I understand," Vanilla said. "I can't wait!"

"Spike, I'm gonna go finish our mission. Can you meet me at Rarity's when you're finished?"

"Sure," Spike said as he finished packing his goods.

"Thanks."

Twilight darted off toward Sugarcube Corner. It would seem that Pinkie Pie is next on Twilight's list. Twilight approached Carrot Cake and Cup Cake's popular confections shop to find The Cake family leaving for an outing.

"Look it's Princess Twilight," Carrot Cake said waving her over. "She'll know what to do."

"Hello, Mr. and Ms. Cake. What's going on?"

"Well, it's Pinkie Pie," Carrot Cake said solemnly. "She's been acting different ever since she started doing pot."

"Doing pot? Like, getting high?"

"Yeah that! Doing pot! Idunno, I heard somepony at the Hayburger say it. It seemed appropriate."

"You mean you don't do it?" Questioned the princess.

"We take the ointment for our achy joints," Cup Cake started. "But we don't take any of that stuff the messes with your head. We don't want to be high around the kids."

"That is interesting to know, but Is Pinkie Pie okay?

"No! She is not okay. It's very worrisome. I love Pinkie Pie, almost like my own flesh and blood, here. But we have to think about the children and I don't want her around here if she's gonna be like that."

"What do you mean? Like what?"

"Perhaps, I better show you, dear," said Cup Cake giving both baby Pumpkin and Pound to their father.

Cup Cake led Twilight upstairs to Pinkie's room. Unusual gritty music could be heard coming through her closed door along with the pungent odor of marijuana.

"Pinkie Pie, it's me," Cup Cake said knocking then entering. "You have a visitor."

"Yeah…" Pinkie said feigning interest.

"It's Twilight."

Twilight entered Pinkie's room. It was dark and the air was acrid. Pinkie Pie was sitting in her giant beanbag in front of a large box with an illuminating screen. Food and trash surrounded her. She seemed to be playing a game.

"Hey Twilight," Pinkie said without looking up.

"You girls play nice," Cup Cake said backing out of the room.

"Okay," Pinkie said as she turned down her music with a remote control. "But don't forget to pick up some more cool ranch chips while, you're out, okay? We ran out."

"Um, okay…" said the worried Ms. Cake.

"Hey Twi, you trying to hop in and play a round?"

"Play a round of what?" Twilight said sitting down next to Pinkie Pie.

"Call of the Battlefield: Hardline Warfare Strike 2 Pro Edition with all the DLC already unlocked. Me and some Pegasi from Cloudsdale are pwning these Manehatten scrubs." Pinkie Pie blew up a tank with her C4. "OOOOOH! Get rekt, son. That deserves another hit!"

Pinkie Pie brought out a glass bong of herself as a dolphin and took a few puffs from it. Twilight took this time to take a good look at Pinkie. She didn't look like herself. Pinkie was wearing sweatpants and it looked like she smeared cheese dust on them a few times. She had acne and her eyes didn't shine like usual. Her mane was frizzier than normal and she looks a bit bloated.

"Are you feeling okay, Pinkie?"

"Aw yeah, dude, I'm just hungry. Playing games is hard work. It works up an appetite! Hey Twilight you should get one of these! It's called GameStation360 U. It's made by Pony! I love it! You can play with ponies all over Equestria. It's mad dopey… I mean, mad dope! I'm still learning how to talk like a gamer!"

Twilight looked at the game with skepticism. Pinkie blew a helicopter out of the sky. She could hear expletives being shouted at XXxxPinkiePot_420xxXX.

"Yeah, ya motha! HeHe!" Pinkie retaliated. "Oopsies. My mic wasn't on. OOH! I thought of a better one." Pinkie unmuted her mic. "Yeah, that's what I did to your mom, last night! BUUUUUUUUURRRRRNNNNN!"

Twilight was extremely shocked by this behavior. Cannabis has done nothing beneficial for Pinkie Pie. She has gained weight, her attitude is negative, and she has become lazy. This was the sort of thing she was looking for. But she was frightened to have witnessed it firsthoof. She was secretly hoping that Celestia was wrong. But surely Luna knew about something like this. Why would she interfere with her warning, Twilight thought.

The doorbell was rung.

"COMING," Pinkie Pie yelled, her eyes still fixed to the screen. "Hey Twilight, could you go grab that? I'm still playing. Thanks."

Twilight reluctantly got up to go check the door. She opened it to see that it was Babs Seed. She was wearing a green vest, similar to Golden and Silver Kush's.

"Babs, what are you doing here," Twilight questioned.

"Hey there, Princess," Babs greeted. "I'm helping out the Kush's. We're trying out a delivery service to see how well it works. Me and the crusaders are all doing it. We set up shop in the Clubhouse. The whole thing was my idea. I thought I was going to do it by myself but I told Strawberry's folks about it and she thought this can be a Cutie Mark Crusader project and, BAM, here I am. We're accepting donations if you wanna pitch in!"

Twilight playfully rolled her eyes and fetched two bits from her satchel and tossed them to Babs.

"Gee, thanks Princess!"

"So are you delivering something to the Cakes? Because they're not here right now."

"Actually-"

"Oh great! You're here," Pinkie said bumping Twilight out of the way and onto the ground. "How much I owe you?"

"70 bits, plus tip!" Babs said with her hoof out.

Pinkie Pie gave Babs Seed the bag of bits for an eighth of marijuana. Babs gave it to her in a small plastic baggie. Twilight slowly recovered from her rude encounter. She witnessed the end of the transaction.

"Pleasure doing business with, ya," Babs said as she began to trot away.

"Yup," Pinkie said smiling, cradling her bag of weed. "Hey Twilight, wanna join? I ordered this new stuff called Dragon's Fire. This stuff is dank as buck!"

"Um, no thanks," Twilight declined. "I'm going to go say hi to Rarity really quick. Wanna come with me?"

"No way! I have a box of pizza I didn't finish from earlier. I can hear it calling my name: PINKIE! COME EAT ME. So I'm just gonna get high and do that and then pass out! Come over tomorrow if you wanna play!"

"I sure will," Twilight, said in her best sarcastic tone.

Twilight left Sugarcube Corner and started towards Rarity's Boutique. She was almost on the verge of tears. She was completely disgusted by what Pinkie has become. She was almost too afraid to go see Rarity. Twilight was upset about what's going on. Everypony seems to enjoy cannabis. But she found that that it can be very bad for a pony. Princess Celestia seems to have known that already. But if Twilight works to ban cannabis from Ponyville that would mean that many ponies would hate her and she would have to send Vanilla away.

Twilight slowly continued her trek. She took a look at other ponies enjoying their high. There were a group of cults laughing at nothing in particular. One of them dropped an empty bag of chips and just left it on the ground. Twilight happened to catch another pony staring at a door that said push. He was completely out of it. Then Twilight overheard a pony on a soapbox preaching to others about how Princess Celestia is trying to control everypony in Equestria. Twilight picked up her pace to get out of earshot of the radical pony.

"None of this is good," she said to herself. "I'm afraid I'll have to make a really tough decision. I guess I can say goodbye to the title: Princess of Friendship. I guess I gotta say goodbye to Vanilla, too."

Twilight finally approached Rarity's home. She let herself in and saw that nopony was around. She called out to Rarity to see if she was home.

"I'm in my workroom," Rarity yelled back.

Twilight made her way upstairs to Rarity's workroom. She can smell the odor of marijuana from downstairs. Twilight was really nervous to go meet her because Rarity is not a pony she wants to she at her worst. But she wants to hurry up and get this experiment over with.

"Come in, darling, I'm just finishing up."

Twilight walked in and could not believe what she saw...


	6. Chapter 6

...Rarity has been busy!

Twilight saw painted canvases, several dressed ponyquins, and sculptures and pottery surrounding Rarity's room. But the most surprising sight to her was Rarity, herself. Rarity cut her mane! It still had her signature curl gracefully fallen to the side of her face but it fell at a shorter length, much like a stylish Mohawk. She had no hair on the back of her like she usually does. It was all gone! Her tail was still curly. Rarity was wearing stainless steel stud earrings, two in each ear. She was wearing denim overalls and they were splattered with dried paint and clay. Rarity even had paint on her face.

Rarity was hoof painting on a large piece of canvas. She took greens and blues and smeared them on the canvass. It was a multicolored silhouette of a pony on a dark background. Twilight was dumbfounded by the display.

"I'll be with you in a moment, dear," Rarity said without looking away from her work. "Just have a seat at the table. There's tea and cookies there for you if you're feeling a bit peckish."

"Wow, Rarity you really-"

"Shhshhshhshh! We'll chat in a moment. Have a seat!"

Twilight could tell she was caught up in her work, so she sat down as instructed and poured herself a cup of tea. She watched her finish her work.

"There," Rarity said standing back from her finished art piece. She then grabbed a towel to wipe her hooves and turned around, finally to see who it was that came in. "How can I help- Twilight, it's you!"

Rarity rushed over to her and gave her a kiss on both cheeks. Twilight was delighted and surprised by the greeting.

"If I had known it was you, I wouldn't have been so cold! But when the muses strike me I have no choice! I lose myself and let my creative juices flow!"

"I had no idea you painted," Twilight said.

"Why of course, dear. Haven't I ever told you?"

Rarity went over to a record player on a rolling table across the room. She put on a jazz record. On the table were a box of rolled joints, an ashtray, and a cigarette holder. She placed a joint in the holder and lit it, keeping it afloat with her magic. She then walked back over to Twilight.

"When I was a filly," Rarity started. "I took advanced art classes. I was quite good. But fabric was my favorite medium. Affixing jewels and gems to them was not only an art but a subconscious function. It felt right. But I never deterred from my other mediums: paint, clay, and marble. Have you ever held marble, Twilight?"

"No, I can't say that I have."

"Oh, come here, then, Twilight! Let me show you what I mean!"

Rarity took Twilight to another room where she keeps her storage. She brought her over to a large block of marble.

"I get my supply from Pinkie Pie's farm. They give me the family discount!"

"Wow, it is impressive."

"Usually I don't work with marble or paint unless I am struck with inspiration. But this cannabis really jump-starts my creativity! Oh, Twilight it is absolutely divine! I feel like a goddess when I'm high! Such a rush!"

"Really?"

"Oh but of course, darling. This wonderful herb widened my artist's eye! Take a good look at this marble. Do you see the end result? Can see the spot to strike first?"

"I can't see anything."

"Then touch it," Rarity said pushing Twilight against the marble. "Embrace it! Feel the shape. Feel the contours! Feel the detail!"

"I can't feel anything, Rarity."

"Be intimate with it, darling. Show it some love and sensual affection! Marble is much like a stallion!"

"What!?"

"Are you a virgin, Twilight?"

"WHAT?"

"No need to be embarrassed, Twilight. You're not the only one out of our group of friends who hasn't had their cherry popped yet."

"Rarity," Twilight yelped holding her tail. "What does it matter? What does that have to do with marble or art or whatever!"

"Calm down, sweetie! Sex and art are virtually the same. Think of sex like dancing; two bodies entangled in a spiraling tornado of unbridled passion. Two different roles sharing the same goal: sweet release! Mmmm…"

"Are you going to be okay," Twilight asked.

"Cannabis is fun to smoke and fun to work with as a fabric. But art isn't the only thing in my life that was sparked from it."

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.

Rarity turned around to close the storage door. It was pitch dark. Rarity illuminated the room by shining the magic around her horn with much more intensity. She then moved a box that was covering a door in the floor. Rarity opened it up to pull out a smaller box.

"My creativity was heightened, that is for certain. But also, my sexual appetite."

Twilight was silent. She wanted to know what was in the box. Rarity opened it to reveal the contents to the young princess. The box contained sex toys. Twilight gasped and ran out of the storage room. Her face was beet red. Rarity followed her after she put her secret box back.

"What? What's the matter?"

"Rarity," Twilight sternly whispered. "Those are, naughty things!"

Rarity burst out into loud laughter.

"Oh, Twilight, you are so cute! Of course they are naughty! But they make me feel so good. I know you're a virgin, but do you masturbate?"

"What?" Twilight said, nervously.

"Masturbate. Clop! Hoofing yourself!"

"Well," Twilight started averting eye contact with Rarity and nervously fidgeting. "Idunno, maybe, like probably once or twice, y'know,... by accident."

"By accident, you say," Rarity smirked.

"Your point?"

"Well, love, pleasuring yourself doesn't even compare to another pony pleasuring you. With self-pleasure all that is important to a pony is that sweet release! And since I've started smoking cannabis I've craved it more than usually. Sometimes I feel too good and I have to relieve myself. I purchased the toys to keep it interesting and I certainly do not wish to go through the hassle of meeting a stallion for casual sex! Do you know what I mean?"

"I'm afraid I don't," Twilight said fixing the hairs in her tail.

Rarity looked at Twilight while she tended to her grooming. Her figure attracted her. Rarity continued looking at her from different angles, almost analyzing her shape.

"You know, there is something alluring about the body of a virgin."

"What?" Twilight winced.

"Well I can see why the untouched would be more desirable. But there is something about the virgin body that alludes an heir of intense sexuality. Something subtle but profound. A four page letter of soft words never spoken aloud. It is dangerous. It is a puzzle, but the solution is right in front of me. Every move you subconsciously make is just simply beautiful."

"Um. Thanks Rarity," Twilight said trying to smile.

"I need it!" Rarity said approaching Twilight face to face.

"Need it? Need what?" Twilight said backing away a bit.

"Your body," Rarity said inching in closer.

"My body?"

"Yes. Your body! I want your body! Please, Twilight I'm begging you!"

"Oh, now I understand," Twilight said closing her eyes and smiling. "You're attracted to me. I understand, now. Believe me, I am flattered that you would want me, Rarity. But what will the others think? I just became a Princess with my own Castle and everything. I'm not sure if ponies would be accepting of our lifestyle, because let's face it, somepony will find out and tell everypony about us and-"

"Twilight, dear," Rarity interrupted. "I was talking about art! I want to paint your body. It has inspired me!"

"Oh!" Twilight responded with a look of awkward shock.

"Wait, you thought that I… wait, does that mean that you're…-"

"Well of course you can paint me," Twilight quickly said pushing Rarity back into her workroom. "But I don't have all day so we shouldn't be here worrying about every little detail about what I said there! Let's get to work!"

Rarity positioned Twilight in the middle of the room leaning on a short column. She draped a long piece of cotton fabric off of her to make it look like she was getting undressed but the clothes were doing all of the work. All of her back was exposed. Rarity positioned Twilight's head to where it was looking over her shoulder. Rarity was finally satisfied with her pose. Jazz music was still playing on her record player. Rarity believed this called for a change in style so she put on classical music. She took a few final puffs from her joint holder before placing it down to start painting on a large canvas.

Rarity began painting her friend with intense focus. Not a word was spoken. Twilight really admired Rarity's interest in the arts. She took a look at some of the clothes she designed for the Cannabis fashion show. Some were very modern, with graphic t-shirts and vests and denim. Some were more elegant, like three piece suits and evening dresses both in which were very slimming. Some were more fashionable and trendy like her sun and moon themed outfits, which Twilight could only describe as pointy. Rarity has made creative use of the hemp fabric she was given.

Spike came in, as requested. He tried to greet the two ponies but was immediately shushed by Rarity as she did Twilight earlier. Just as Twilight did, he took the opportunity of silence to look at the work Rarity has done. He, too, was swept away by the beautiful pieces of art Rarity has kept herself busy with. Then he began watching her. He hadn't noticed the changes she made to herself at first. She had dried paint on her hooves and face. Her eyes were heavy. Spike could tell she has been hard at work but wondered for how long. They still carry so much energy and focus. Spike was truly captivated by her. She never looked more beautiful. Spike continued to watch her as she used a combination of her hooves and her magic to make her carefully placed strokes.

It was another hour or so before Rarity was finished. She set down her paints on the table with the record player. She did exactly as before, from the jazz to the holder.

"I'm finished, darling," Rarity said lighting her joint holder.

Twilight quickly got up from her pose and rushed over to the canvas to see her work. Twilight's face lit up like a growing flame. She was stunned by her work. Spike, too was amazed by the painting.

"Technically I still have some detailing to do but I got what I needed from you. Puff?"

Twilight declined the offer but Spike took her puff instead.

"Spike, you're smoking again?" Twilight said. "You're a baby dragon. You shouldn't be getting high, at all."

"Oh, yeah," Spike started after exhaling the smoke from Rarity's joint. "Guess what? Aurora Indica thinks I should be okay. Dragons live for hundreds of years. Time and dragon killers are my only enemies, at least that's what her dragon told her."

"She has a dragon, too?" Rarity gasped.

"Sort of. She said she took care of one as a filly and they became friends until they parted ways. She told her a lot of stuff about dragons, I guess. She invited me over with you, so I could come and ask her questions and stuff."

"Wow," Twilight said. "That's amazing! Well, I suppose she would be right about dragons and weed. Just be careful Spike.

"Please, do, love," Rarity said nuzzling Spike. "I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to my most precious gem!"

"Don't worry, I will," Spike blushed. "And we probably should get going. They're expecting us soon. Vanilla Kush was really excited. She asked me what your favorite dessert was and she's gonna make it for us!"

Twilight wore a wide smile. She couldn't believe the news. She blushed and bit her bottom lip as she lost herself in tender thoughts. Rarity noticed this. She thought of a way to get Spike to leave so that she could talk her about it.

"Spike, dear, would you be so kind to fetch my earring from downstairs? I'm not sure where I left it, I'm afraid."

"Don't worry," Spike said. "I find stuff for Twilight all of the time. You can count on me!"

Spike rushed out of the room to find the lost treasure in hopes his princess will reward him.

"What a gentleman," Rarity complemented. "It's such a shame he's so young."

"He is a keeper," Twilight said.

"So is Vanilla," Rarity teased.

"Yeah,... I mean, you know. If you're into that sort of thing."

"Twilight…," Rarity said with an eyebrow raised implying something.

"I don't think we should be talking about this right now," said a nervous Twilight. "I mean, Spike should be back any second now."

"From looking for that earring? There is no earring, dear. I just said that to get him out of the room. Admiration for a mare is a big motivator for our male counterparts! Now, then, tell me the truth. You have feelings for Vanilla, don't you?"

"Is it obvious?"

"Quite!"

"Oh Rarity, it's true. I really really REALLY like her! I can't help myself! Everytime I think about her I start smiling like a big dopey idiot! She's smart and pretty and cool; don't you think she's perfect for us?"

"Goodness, Twilight. I don't think I've had the pleasure of seeing you this taken, before."

"She is so special, Rarity. I can feel it. But I'm more than positive she doesn't feel the same way."

"How do you know?"

"I don't but what am I gonna do? Tell her I like girls and I think we should date? I can't do that. What if she doesn't like girls like that? What if she doesn't like me that much at all?"

"I think the chances of her being… um, that way, is pretty high. A lot of mares are lesbians. Not enough stick to go around, if you catch my drift."

"Well it doesn't even matter," Twilight said gathering her things. "I might not get the chance to ask her, anyway."

"Twilight, what do you mean? Aren't you seeing her tonight?"

Twilight was silent before she spoke again. She reluctantly told her about the research she and Spike started. She told her of the dilemma of possibly sending the Kush family away if she could prove to Celestia and everypony that cannabis is harmful. After visiting Pinkie Pie, she has her proof. But her feelings for Vanilla continue to grow.

"I'm just finding it hard to realize what is really important," said Twilight.

"Twilight," Rarity said finishing her joint. "It is true. You are a princess now. But don't forget about you in all of you royal duties. To put it better, I think you of all ponies would know what's best, darling. You are the smartest pony I know! I believe deep down in my heart, that you will find a solution that would satisfy everypony, even yourself. You just have to trust in yourself, dear."

"I just really wish I can," Twilight said making her way towards the door.

"I think you will. If not now, when the time is right. That is a how these things tend to always work out."

Rarity's notion brought a smile to Twilight's face. She and Rarity continued to make their way downstairs. They found Spike still searching for the supposedly lost earring.

"I still haven't found it yet, Rarity," Spike said looking under an ottoman. "But I haven't given up."

Rarity quickly took off one of her earrings and placed it under a hat on a counter.

"Have you tried over here, Spike" Rarity yelled.

Spike rushed over and searched the area. He finally found the lost earring under that hat after checking everything but.

"Here you go, fair maiden," Spike graciously offered the earring to her.

"Oh, Spikey Wikey," Rarity said squeezing Spike. "Thank you for saving the day!"

"Anything - ouch - for you!"

Rarity saw Spike and Twilight out.

"Thanks, Rarity," Twilight started. "For everything."

"It was my absolute pleasure. But please, let Vanilla and Aurora know that I am ready for the show tomorrow."

Twilight nodded and continued on her way. She got a few feet before she heard Rarity call out to her.

"Oh, and Twilight, do let me know if you want to borrow a back massager!"

Twilight cringed with embarrassment.

"Back massager?" Spike questioned. "What's that about?"

"Another thing I'll tell you once you're older," Twilight sighed. "Now lets make it back to the castle to freshen up."

Spike hopped on her back and off they flew to the Friendship Rainbow Kingdom Castle. Twilight was in a better mood. After seeing what cannabis did for Rarity's creativity, Twilight did not seem worried about the dangers anymore.

"So Rarity was the last one, right?" Spike yelled loud enough to be heard. "So do you have everything you need now?"

"I will after dinner," Twilight yelled back. "When we come back I'll compile everything I've learned and send my report to Celestia."

The two arrived on the perch of Twilight's room.

"Spike, check our pantry for a good cider to bring and when we're there, don't embarrass us by talking about your gross feet."

"But they are so fascinating, Twilight."

"I mean it! But let's hurry, okay," Twilight said opening her doors. "I just can't wait to-"

"Princess Twilight Sparkle, forgive my intrusion," said a figure in the dark.

"Princess Celestia." Twilight said, surprised by her visit. "I wasn't expecting you. I could've had tea ready. Here let me light some candles. Are you hungry?"

"Dearest Twilight, I am fine thank you," Celestia's warm smile practically lit the room. "I do apologize for arriving here unannounced. But I wanted to speak to you. I haven't heard from you since my last letter. I've never known you to not respond so promptly. I was afraid that you did not receive my warning."

Twilight's assumptions were correct. Her heart dropped.

"We can't allow cannabis to thrive here," Celestia continued. "It is just too troublesome."

"Princess Celestia," Twilight reluctantly began speaking. "I have received your message. But I didn't get pass the first sentence. Princess Luna came and-"

"She did intercept it, after all," Celestia interrupted. "I was afraid of this. And I can't locate her at all. She is blocking my magic to find her. She's probably off smoking, getting high somewhere. Honestly!"

"That explains why she smoked my bowl," Spike added. "She could've just asked."

"You see, you two, when we were around your age, Twilight, we came across cannabis when more land came under our governance. We did enjoy it but Luna loved it. She became addicted. It interfered with her duties as a Moon Princess. She was late raising and lowering the moon. She would devour every dream she came across causing a lot of pony citizens'' memory to digress. She made friends with enemies and often protected them. And her motivation was nonexistent. She was a absolute menace."

Twilight was shocked and confused. She was right all along. Luna was up to something. Cannabis was bad. Twilight became scared and then she realized something that was said by Luna: _you're a Princess now,... It is time you took charge and start acting like one._

"We shouldn't waste anymore time with this," the Sun Princess said. "We should go ahead and ban the plant right away. I'll draw up some papers and-"

"Princess Celestia, wait," Twilight said with her head down. "I think we should wait."

"I beg your pardon…"

"Just let me handle the situation. If I see Princess Luna again, I will let you know, I promise. But just please… I need you to trust me on this."

Celestia was silent and her face stunned. She was not happy about Twilight's position on the matter.

"My biggest fear is that my sister has gotten through to you before me. But I believe you're smarter than that. As you wish, young Princess. I shall leave it in your hooves."

Twilight was relieved by her response. She hadn't even noticed her wings were erected. _I must've come off as intimidating _she thought. She did not mean for that to happen.

"Thank you, Princess Celestia," she finally said.

"But be warned," Celestia said with a foreboding tone. "I pray you'll make the right decision. I still have precedence over you, Twilight. Do not force me to exercise my authority over you. You're the only thing I've touched that didn't end up damaged in any way."

Twilight was almost on the verge of tears.

"Farewell," Princess said vanishing into thin air.

Twilight broke down into tears. She had already made up in her mind that she was going to see this through, no matter what. That is why she had to stand up against the only pony she truly believes in. The one she looks up to. But a certain pony's smile was enough for her to compose herself. Spike helped her wiped her face.

"Thank you, Spike," she said regaining her composure. "Now let's get ready to go."


	7. Chapter 7

Twilight and Spike approached the home of the Kush's. The Kush's farm was ripe with the odor of Sativa strains. There were rows of cannabis crops. Twilight deduced the Kush's were ready for such a big demand, as if they anticipated it. It was an impressive setup. The home of the Kush's was a small shanty on top of a few acres of land next to a mountain lake. Half of it seemed to be reserved for Sativa crops. There were three large barns next to the lake. It was a large property, big but quiet. It was peaceful.

Twilight wore a casual skirt with a shirt and sweater vest. Her mane was tied up in a bun. Spike wore a shirt and jacket. He was carrying a bottle of vintage cider. They approached the door and knocked.

"Coming," a voice said.

"Remember," Twilight whispered. "Don't embarrass us?"

"I get it! Okay," Spike grumbled.

Vanilla Kush opened the door to greet her guests. She was wearing an elegant black dress. She was wearing makeup, as well. Twilight's jaw gradually dropped at the sight of her.

"Hey guys, glad you could make it," Vanilla said.

"Hi. We. Here. Dinner. Food. Now. Nice. Eye… Balls."

Spike and Vanilla looked at Twilight with confused expressions.

"Um, thanks. You… too?" Vanilla said.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" Spike yelled.

"Why don't you two come in," Vanilla suggested, ridding the moment of awkwardness.

Vanilla led them in to the dinning room. All the while, Spike paid attention to Twilight's odd behavior. He noticed that she was staring at Vanilla's hips, as if she wanted to bite into them.

"Ah, geez," Spike said to himself. "I think I know what's going on here."

Vanilla sat them down at the table. Golden Kush and Silver Kush were already seated there. There were glasses of water and empty wine glasses at every seat. A pitcher of wine rested right in front of Golden Kush. Aurora, Strawberry and Vanilla were helping in the kitchen and setting the rest of the table.

"Twilight," Golden Kush abruptly stood up and shook her hoof. "Excuse me. PRINCESS Twilight! It is so nice to finally formally meet you."

"Um, likewise, Mr. Kush," Twilight said.

"You too, my dragon friend. Welcome to our humble bungalow in paradise!"

"Thanks for having us," Spike said shaking his hoof. "We brought a bottle of cider!"

Spike gave the bottle to Golden who gave it to Silver.

"We appreciate it, young one," Silver said. "I was afraid we would only drink wine this evening."

"Why, what's wrong with wine, dear brother?" Golden said pouring a glass for Twilight.

"Forgive him, he has been drinking a bit before you've arrived."

"And why, not?," Golden loudly said. "Are we not celebrating?"

"Dad," Vanilla said, bringing in a dish of nicely charred brussel sprouts.

Silver Kush got up from the table to fetch a small wooden box from the next room. He opened it and picked up a blunt. He proceeded to light it with a torch lighter.

"What's that, Mr. Silver Kush?" Spike asked.

"Oh, this a blunt," Silver responded on an exhale. "I usually have one before I eat. It resembles a cigarette but the only tobacco in this little bugger is the paper itself. It's packed with marijuana. Also,... well take a hit, young dragon, and tell me if you notice something."

Spike took the blunt and took a long drag from it. He exhaled and noticed the taste on his lips.

"Is that… cinnamon?" Spike questioned smacking his lips.

"Indeed it is."

"Whoa, how'd you do that?"

"I douse the paper in flavored abstracts. I have orange, strawberry, vanilla, lemon, and grape."

"Wow, that's awesome! Twilight, you gotta try this!"

"Oh, but I'm already drinking wine."

"Then have this Ms. Twilight," said Strawberry Kush with her cute youthful inflection. She brought in a platter of sliced baguette and a serving bowl of pesto spread. "Have some bread and pesto! It's an edible and I sliced the bread all by myself. I only cut myself twice!"

"Um, well okay," the princess graciously succumbed to the offer.

"Here let me spread it for you," Strawberry said eagerly preparing a slice before hearing her response.

"Oh, um, thank you."

Aurora Indica Kush brought in the plates with Vanilla Kush following her with the silverware. After the table was set, the girls joined everypony else at the table. Before they began serving, Golden Kush brought the room to his attention.

"Lasses and gents," he started. "This house is full this evening. It is full of life. It is full of love."

"Daddy!" Vanilla said raising her voice a bit.

"Shshhsh, lemme finish, sugar booger."

"C'mon, dad! Let's eat before the sprouts get cold!"

"Hold on, my dear, just one sec. My friends, the Kush family has grown this evening by two members. These members will always have a place at this table. Their kindness, their tenacity, and their kindness… and their… um,... their other fine attributes, are qualities that are unique to the Kush name. As we continue to fill our bellies, let us also continue to fill this house with tender memories."

"Like, hear hear, ponies," Aurora Indica enthusiastically agreed, while raising a glass of wine.

Each of them followed suit raising their glasses to toast to the evening. Silver Kush was the first to help himself to the food, followed by his brother. Spike also hurried to get some of Vanilla's cooking.

After awhile, everypony had their fill of sprouts and bread. Silver Kush and Golden Kush entertained Spike with the grow procedure of cannabis. Twilight was listening as well, until she began helping the mares with the dishes.

"Hey aren't we having dessert?" Strawberry Kush pouted.

"Yes, but it's not ready yet," Vanilla said. "Actually I was hoping I could show you the grounds, Twilight, until it's ready. Is it okay if I leave the dishes to you, mom?"

"Like, 'cha!" Aurora agreed.

"Thanks, mom. I'll go grab some boots!"

Twilight assisted Aurora Indica until Vanilla returned.

"You must be, like, some kinda special pony, Princess Twilight."

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.

"Well, like, our little Vanilla never wears that dress. She was such a nervous wreck earlier. Like, not even my herbal tea could mellow her mood. I've never seen my little girl like this!"

Twilight began to smile but her hooves were shaking. Her heart wanted to jump out of her chest and do backflips while singing. She was nervous of what to expect on the tour. She was sure that Vanilla wasn't just going to show her the grounds.

"Here, I got you some boots, too, Twilight," Vanilla said coming from the back of the house. "Okay mom, if we're not back in 15 minutes, could you please take out the pie so that it can cool?"

"Like, would you hurry up and take your marefriend out of here?" Aurora joked pushing them out of the front door.

"Sorry about that," Vanilla said over nervous laughter. "Families. What are ya gonna do about 'em!"

"Yeah," Twilight said with a crooked smile grabbing her shoulder. "So are these all of the crops?"

"No," Vanilla said as they began walking into the fields. "These are half of what we grow. We have twelve strains of Sativa growing out here and in one of the barns we have 7 kinds of Indica growing under our hoofmade hydroponic systems. Daddy and Uncle Silver spent years perfecting it. C'mon, I'll show you the setup."

Vanilla Kush and Twilight walked to the first barn. Twilight was almost taken back by the pungent odor. It was stronger than the fields' odor. Vanilla led Twilight into the barn. Twilight was amazed at the intricate system. The strains were neatly lined in alphabetical order and the entire system was timed to a strict lighting and watering horticulture schedule.

"Wow, do you manage these yourself?" Twilight asked.

"We each have our jobs. I help with harvesting the buds and drawing up the schedules. I know it sounds boring but I love making lists and schedules."

"You too? Isn't it invigorating?"

"Oh my gosh, yes, and it helps me be so organized!"

"Yes! Ponies just don't understand the joys of proper planning!"

"Yeah…,"

The ponies shared a brief moment of silent eye contact before Twilight was first to break it.

"So, um, how do you keep the lights on?"

"It's powered by generator, like everything else on the farm. Each of the barns have wind powered turbines built in the roofs and they power the generators. Our house has one too."

"That is fascinating. What a wonderful way to utilize the power of nature."

"This area is like a valley so it's always windy! Everything we do, we keep the environment in mind. Mom really makes sure our impact on nature is minimal. All our power comes from the wind and all our water is borrowed from the lake."

"Are the other barns setup like this one?"

"Actually one of the two is a dry house and the other is my mom's lab."

"You guys have your own lab?"

"Yeah, you wanna see?"

"Actually I think I need to sit down. Your appetizers are starting to kick in, I think."

"Well, let's go sit outside!"

Vanilla and Twilight found a spot on a small hill. The scenery was perfect. The moon hung high in the clear night sky. It's reflection beamed down on the lake with twice as many twinkling stars around it. The warm breeze hugged the contours of the pony's exposed fur.

"This feels nice," Twilight said with her eyes closed.

"Twilight," Vanilla sat up and addressed her friend. "I really like it here in Ponyville. It's so chill."

"Yeah, we're so totally, chill! We're, like, ice chill! We're like zero degrees Celsius or 32 degrees Fahrenheit chill," Twilight responded. "Like all the way… down… town… yo!"

Vanilla giggled at her remark.

"I hope we get to stay and cultivate for Ponyville. I just know you all can benefit from this in a big way."

"Hey, Vanilla," Twilight started. "Whatever we vote on doing I just want you to know that you have convinced me that this is something worth fighting for. Your faith in this is inspiring and I will do what I can to help you and your family. That is my decision not as a Princess, but as a friend!"

"Thanks, Twilight," Vanilla said hugging Twilight. "Y'know there is one other thing I like about Ponyville. There's a pony there I kinda like."

Twilight's expression grew from what was blissful to one of grave concern.

"A pony? In Ponyville? Is he handsome?"

Vanilla laughed at Twilight's expression. She could tell Twilight was close to being done playing with the game they're playing.

"Well, SHE is a very smart pony who is like the cutest dork in all of Equestria. Oh, and she's a flipping Princess! That's pretty hot!"

Twilight was silent for a moment before she said her next words. All the while her concentration was fixed on Vanilla.

"Wait," Twilight said. "You think I'm a dork? Is it the mane? Spike said I looked like a dork this way but I didn't want to believe him-"

Twilight's rant was interrupted by an impatient Vanilla. Vanilla passionately kissed Twilight. She gently held her face while doing so. Twilight leaned on top of her, making Vanilla's back meet the ground. The two ponies tenderly embraced each other, enjoying nopony's company but their own.

Meanwhile, at the Kush residence the occupants wind down the evening in the living room, except for Strawberry Kush who sat on the floor in the kitchen waiting for the dessert. Silver Kush and Golden Kush shared a blunt and talked about buying needed supplies. Aurora Indica was sharing a conversation with Spike as she massaged his spines.

"So you mean to tell me that our fire breath is a form of magic?" Spike said.

"Like, absolutely positively, little dragonborn. I was told of dragons that breathe water and ice. Like, each dragon is connected to an element so the stronger the connection to the element, like, the more powerful the dragon's breath is. Get it?"

"Hmm. That raises questions about my link to Princess Celestia. Does every Dragon have an element?"

"Certainly!"

"Awesome! I can't wait to tell Twilight!"

"Speaking of which," Golden Kush said when he heard Spike's comment. "Can you level with me, my friend? How does the Princess feel about all of this? Do you think we have a chance here or are we wasting everypony's time?"

"Like, Goldie!" Aurora raised her voice. "You promised you wouldn't bring that up!"

"I know, my sweet, I know. But I will hate myself if I didn't plead our case."

Spike sat up to listen to what Golden Kush had to say.

"Please, go ahead Mr. Kush!"

"Thank you, my friend. We are peaceful hard working ponies. We're not out here trying to hurt anypony or get rich! We've been at this for a long time and it's about time we share our gifts and talents with all of Equestria. When me and my brother stumbled across this wonderful herb we weren't planning on selling it. We just wanted to grow it and smoke it! I know this might sound crazy but I've lived my life according to how the universe designed it for me. I'm going with the flow, that's the kind of ponies we are! But it was destiny for us to find cannabis. It was destiny for us to learn about it. It was destiny that I met my beautiful and intelligent wife who helped us! You see where I'm getting at, little guy?"

"Say no more, um… my friends," Spike said standing in the middle of the room. "Everypony already loves cannabis! Plus Twilight is gonna make sure you guys get the chance you deserve! And I wanna help too! All of this makes sense to me. It feels right. I wanna… go with the flow!"

"Yes!" Golden Kush said standing with Spike. "You fill me with hope and inspiration."

"The pie is ready," Strawberry yelled.

"And now we'll be full of pie," Spike said to Golden.

"Like, cool chill everypony," Aurora Indica said while retrieving the pie from the oven. "We have to like, let it cool and junk."

Strawberry whined and pouted. Spike decided to help cheer her up by playing games with her. They started with tongue twisters and hoof games and then tag and hide and seek. Their fun was moved to the outside. The two played until Twilight and Vanilla came back from their stroll.

"Yay, sister is back, big bro," Strawberry Kush said to her new pal Spike. "Now we can finally have some wild berry pie."

Twilight was surprised that Vanilla actually made her favorite desert.

"I can't believe you actually got it, right!" She exclaimed. My mother used to make it for me. To make it extra special I told her to only make it for me for special occasions. I'll have you know, my mother makes the best wild berry pie this side of Equestria. Nopony can come close!"

"We'll just see about that," Vanilla said.

Strawberry and Vanilla Kush went back inside. Twilight was following behind them until Spike called her attention.

"Hey Twilight," he started. "How was the farm? Did she- why is your vest inside out now?

"My vest?"

Twilight and Vanilla spent most of their time together in each other's hooves. Some clothing articles were removed in the short romp. Twilight forgot to correctly redress her self.

"Oh, my vest. Um, we- I mean I got some dirt on it. No worries!"

Twilight nervously laughed and reentered the Kush home with Spike following close behind her. They each had a plate of pie waiting for them. They all enjoyed Vanilla's wild berry pie. Twilight was impressed by it the most. It was the best pie she ever had. Vanilla reveled in Twilight's delight and praise. She confessed that it took her several pie attempts to get it just right. She was happy eveypony liked it.

After another slice, Twilight and Spike decided to head home. Everypony said goodnight to each other. Twilight and Vanilla were the last to part.

"So, I think I'm going to hold the vote tomorrow," Twilight said. "I'll do it after Rarity's show. If that's okay."

"Yeah, we'll be there," Vanilla said scratching the ground with her hoof. "Hey Twilight, I hope you think I'm not being too forward or doing this to get on your good side. I really like you. I just want you to know, if I'm moving too fast-"

Twilight silenced her with a sincere kiss.

"Don't worry," Twilight assured. "I think we'll be just fine."

The two hugged once more before they parted ways. Twilight and Spike started for home. The two reminisced about the evening and thought fondly of the Kush family. Twilight began to tell Spike about her plans for tomorrow but the two suddenly disappeared without a trace. Twilight looked up to see that she was no longer near the Kush Farm. It was dark and void of any life. The earth felt differently under Twilight's hooves. She scratched at the white ground to observe it more. Spike pointed out the many craters that surrounded them. Twilight began to deduce where they are.

"Spike, I think we might be on the moon."

"How very perceptive of you, Twilight Sparkle," said a familiar voice. It was the Lunar Princess, Princess Luna. She came walking out of a nearby crater. She looked different from the last time they saw her. Luna wore a pink t-shirt and her mane was tied into a scrunchie. She wore bunny slippers on her hooves as well. "We are indeed on the moon."


	8. Chapter 8

"But why the moon?" Twilight questioned. "Why have you been acting so strangely? Your sister… Princess Celestia is trying to track you down. Do you have any idea what's going on?"

"Potato chip?" Princess Luna offered holding a bag of garlic chips.

"Wha-? Princess Luna, are you okay?"

"Please, come into my crater."

Princess Luna led Twilight and Spike into Luna's crater. They could not believe their eyes. In the crater existed a large castle deep down in the crater. It was completely made out of moon material but some of the material is slightly tempered more or less to achieve the solid structure. It had towering spires and statues of Princess Luna accented all over the castle.

"You live here?" Spike asked.

"I used to," Luna responded. "But now I just visit. It's cloaked in a protective magic. It's how I hide from my nosey sister!"

"It's beautiful," Twilight said marveling at all she saw. "I guess ponies really can breathe in space."

"Oh, no Twilight," Princess Luna responded. "We cannot breathe in space. Again that is my magic protecting us."

"Wow, you are really powerful."

"It comes from many years of practice, young one."

"But why did you bring us here?"

Luna remained silent but still wore a smile on her face. Twilight and Spike gave each other worried expressions.

They reached the castle doors. The corridors led to a throne room. It was a large spacious room with a high ceiling and torches for lighting. There in the middle of the room was a lone throne chair. It was lush and regal. Around it was trash from snacks that Luna consumed. Next to the throne on the ground was at least two pounds of cannabis.

"You've been here the whole time?"

"Space and weed mesh well together, Twilight Sparkle."

Luna changed the throne into a three-cushioned recliner sofa. She also summoned more snacks and juice.

"Have a seat, friends. I shall tell you all while we watch our home rise over the horizon I'll prepare for us."

The two obliged and took a seat on the sofa. Luna joined them.

"Okay, now watch your heads."

Luna opened the ceiling by parting them with a wave of her hooves. All they could see were countless stars caught in sea of darkness. Luna then raised the floor beneath them toward the ceiling. She stopped the elevation towards the top.

"Young dragon," Luna addressed Spike.

"Uh, yes, Princess Luna?"

Luna used her magic to fetch a chunk of moon dirt. She used her magic to materialize a bong for him to use with Twilight.

"Use your claws to crush your buds, little dragon. You'll find the task to be done with ease for you. You can use this piece to smoke it out of."

Princess Luna used her magic to grab some buds for her self. Using her magic she bubbled her buds with her aura and incinerated them trapping the smoke in the bubble. She then quickly chilled the bubble and began to inhale all of the smoke.

"Whoa," Spike said impressed. "You really do like to smoke weed."

"I could be high for an eternity if I could. But sadly this is the best I could do."

"Princess Celestia," Twilight started. "I need to ask: Do you know that Princess Celestia is planning to ban cannabis?"

"I do, young Princess, and I'm afraid once again, she will have her way. There are several ponies I keep a close watch over due their gifts to see the future but only through dreams. A month ago one of these ponies had a vision of your event tomorrow. I witnessed the dream and saw that cannabis had returned to our land and it brought peace to Ponyville. But my sister appeared and she cancelled the event. I could not see much after that. It is the reason why I had to hide myself so that I could enjoy this once more. I can't go back to living without it! I need it, Twilight."

"Princess Celestia told me about your history with cannabis. She told me that it changed you and that it interfered with your duties as the Lunar Princess. She said it made you… a menace."

"The nerve! She makes me so angry! Ever since we were fillies I could not escape her shadow. She was the favored one and I was the black sheep. Sometimes she would make me feel like I had a friend. But other times she sounds just like our father. I hated him. He was a shortsighted stallion. They would make my life miserable at times. They make me feel like no matter what they ask of me I could never measure up to their expectations. But that is why I love cannabis because it helped me forget about my troubles. I would get high and nothing could bring me down. So yes I had my fun and I am sorry for letting it control my life. But life without it just is not the same. Things are already difficult for me, now. At least when I'm medicated these things do not hurt me as much."

Twilight was very concerned about Princess Luna. Pinkie Pie burned a bad image of cannabis in her mind and after hearing what Celestia said, it seemed like Luna and Pinkie suffer the same effects of getting high. But after hearing Luna's story, she isn't so sure anymore.

"Princess Luna,..." Twilight said with deep concern in her voice.

"Twilight," Luna continued she shines so brightly. I am fated to forever live in her shadow. If that is my fate, then why can I not have this one little consolation? Why can't I be happy?"

Luna shed a tear from her eye. The tear began to fall down her cheek but it stopped and floated upwards into space. It twinkled like the many stars around it.

"Whoa," Spike said after packing the bowl. "That sounds really personal."

"He's right, Princess Luna," Twilight added. "If what you say is true than Princess Celestia's motives would be personal. But I've seen the benefits firsthoof and the citizens really like cannabis. And the Kush family are good ponies. It just doesn't make sense to ban cannabis because a few ponies can't control themselves. No offense."

"None taken," Luna said with a sniffle.

"I think we can fix this. Ever since we left the Kush's I've had these ideas spring up. I think they're really gonna help our cause. I would like you to come tomorrow, Princess Luna. I think it would really help if you were there."

"I am just not sure if that is a good idea, Twilight. These premonitions have never been wrong. It would just be pointless, anyway."

"Princess Luna, have you been controlling the moonrise all of this time?"

Princess Luna was confused by the sudden shift in conversation.

"Why, yes of course. I could practically do it while I am asleep."

"And you teleported us from a remote area on the planet to the moon without any assistance?"

"Twilight, as you have said. My magic is very powerful, however, I can control it with ease, no matter what."

"I can see that. You could pretty much control this entire castle. Well of course you can. You can control the entire moon! It wouldn't matter what mental state you're in."

Princess Luna finally understood Twilight's intentions. She was phishing information. Luna could not help but laugh.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle, I think you are right. You seem to have this under control. I shall place my faith in you on this matter. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Princess Luna."

"Now, sit back friends and take your tokes now. What you are about to witness is utterly breathtaking."

The three moon occupants smoked and laughed until all was silent. Suddenly, a giant blue mass appeared before them. The planet slowly began to rise into view for Princess Luna and her guests. It was like watching the sun, rise from the dark horizon.

"It's so big!" Spike marveled.

"And we've only seen not even a fraction of it all," Twilight said.

"Same, and I've been alive for centuries!"

They all shared in each other's company. They laughed and smoked and conversed. In an effort to lighten the mood even more, Luna changed the gravity in the throne room. The three floated around swimming in the space around them. Spike used his fire to propel himself around. Twilight giggled almost uncontrollably. She was delighted to fly without the use of her wings.

After a while Twilight addressed to Luna that they should head home. Princess Luna was sad to hear her say that but understood it had to be so. Princess Luna hugged her guests before sending them back to their castle.  
After making sure Spike was asleep, Twilight quietly got out of bed to go to her study. She gathered all of her research material to a desk along with a cup of hot lemon tea. She spread out everything on her desk. Before she got to work she took a sip of her tea. Her eyes wandered and found a picture next to the desk of her and all of her friends. She imagined the Kush family there in the picture as well as smiled at the thought.

"Alright," she said after placing her mug down. "Time to do my duty as a Princess!"


	9. Chapter 9

It was the day of the big event. Ponyville was busy with ponies rallying for Rarity's show and Town Vote. Some ponies assisted with setting up the stage. Applejack and Big Mac were helping as well. Big Mac helped haul equipment while wearing brand new headphones for his portable music player. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy also assisted with decorations. Rarity was back stage making sure her models wore her dresses correctly. Vinyl Scratch aided by DJing for everypony while they worked.

Twilight and Spike showed up during the preparations. They were impressed by everypony happily working so hard together. The sight filled Twilight with hope and excitement.

"Whoa, everypony seems to be happier today," Spike said, looking around with delight.

"Yeah, I'm starting to feel it, too, I think," Twilight said. "It's like everypony is in sync with each other and nothing but peace and happiness lives here. It's strange but it feels good."

"Hey guys," said Vanilla Kush walking up to them from behind pulling a cart with her sister Strawberry.

"Vanilla!" Twilight greeted her with a big hug "Where is the rest of your family?"

"They'll be here soon with a couple of carts. I brought the first one with Strawberry. I think she's with those little fillies from the other day."

The group walked over to Applejack who bucked a couple of barrels into place.

"Well, howdy, Twilight, Vanilla, Spike," Applejack welcomed. "Y'all ready for the big show?"

"I will be after I get a few tokes in," Spike said.

"Allow me to help you," Vanilla said. She shook her dreads and a joint fell out and into Spike hands.

"Whoa, what?" Spike said. "Wow, are you magic or something?"

"Sometimes I leave joints in my mane and forget about them. It comes with the trade!"

"Ah know what ya mean," Applejack said. "I do the same with apples!"

"You guys wanna smoke?" Spike said holding up the joint to Applejack and Twilight.

"No thanks, partner," Applejack declined. "I like to stay sharp while Ah'm workin'."

"Yeah, I better keep my wits, too," Twilight said.

"You should save it for later," Vanilla suggested. "I mean the show hasn't started yet."

"Good idea," Spike said putting the joint away. "I guess I'll go see if Rarity needs help, then."

Spike ran off to help his crush. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy floated in to meet their friends after Spike's departure.

"Hey, guys," Rainbow Dash greeted.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash," Twilight said as she looked behind her pegasi pals. She then looked up and around, searching for something.

"Hey, what's your deal, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Well, I don't see Pinkie Pie anywhere."

"Oh, I haven't seen her either." Fluttershy said. "I hope she's okay."

"She's fine," Rainbow Dash assured. "Knowing her she's probably face first in a cake somewhere."

"Well, I'm going to go make sure," Twilight said. "I'll be right back."

Twilight flew off to Sugarcube corner. She arrived quickly at the confectioner's store. Twilight didn't bother to use the front door. She tapped on the window to Pinkie Pie's room. There wasn't a response for the first two tries. On the third time Pinkie Pie finally opened the window letting the sun hit her blue eyes. She cringed in pain.

"Cheese Louise, that stings," Pinkie Pie said as she rubbed her eyes.

"Pinkie Pie, can I come in?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, you crazy bitch. Come on in! Don't mind the mess."

Twilight floated into Pinkie Pie's room. It hasn't been very long since the last time she visited her and yet much more trash has accumulated in piles around her room. Mountains of junk food wrappers and half eaten cakes and pizza boxes were everywhere. Next to Pinkie Pie's dolphin bong there were piles of empty baggies and disposable lighters. The air was unbearably stale. The only thing illuminating the room was the light from her television set. Twilight watched Pinkie Pie as she plopped in her seat next to her pipe. Twilight sits and continues watching her as she scrapes resin out of her bowl and on to a spoon.

"Do you clean that thing often?" Twilight asked with a crooked smile.

"Cleaning it?" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "You can smoke this stuff. I don't have anymore bits so I'm getting what I can. Want a hit?"

"Pinkie Pie, you're broke?"

"Well yeah, silly. I spent all my bits on food and stuff."

Twilight looked at Pinkie Pie with a look of concern. She sat closer to Pinkie Pie and placed her hooves around her hooves.

"Pinkie Pie. You've spent all of your money on weed, haven't you?"

"Well, yeah, a little bit but it's okay, Twi! No big deal."

"It is a very big deal. From what I can see, all you've done was get high in your room. When was the last time you worked?"

"A few days ago, but the Cakes are cool about it."

"No, Pinkie Pie, they're not. They're going to kick you out if you keep this behavior up."

Pinkie Pie became defensive and pulled her hooves away from Twilight.

"I'm fine," Pinkie Pie huffed. "I got this under control."

"Pinkie Pie, you have an addiction. It's okay. You can be helped. That is, if you're willing to be helped."

Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes and scuffed.

"Whatever, Twilight. I don't have a problem with weed," Pinkie Pie said as she continued to pile on her resin. "I don't need any help from anypony. This is who I am, now."

"No it's not, Pinkie Pie, and you know it! Look at yourself," Twilight said pointing to a mirror. "Look how far you've gone. You look terrible and this is after a few days! Look at that pony and tell me again, that you've got this under control."

Pinkie Pie pulled away from Twilight again. She slowly went back to her seat to begin packing a bowl of resin to smoke without saying a word.

"I understand Pinkie Pie. I really do. You have friends who can help you. You don't have to accept any help but once you admit that there is a problem I think you'll find that it would be easier to accept it."

Twilight looked at Pinkie Pie. Her words have caused her to stop what she was doing and self reflect. Twilight was about to walk over to hug her until Pinkie Pie began smoking the collected resin. Twilight winced at the sight.

"Well, I'll be going to the event then," she said. "I hope to see you there…"

Pinkie Pie did not respond. Twilight flew out the way she came in. Pinkie Pie walked to her window and began shedding tears as she closed it. Twilight did not look back at Sugarcube Corner.

Meanwhile, at the event, Rarity's fashion show was ready to begin. Pulsating rave music was blaring from the speakers as Vinyl Scratch controls the DJ booth. Ponies were seated and ready for the show to begin. Even the Kush family was seated in attendance in a booth in their honor. Ponies backstage scurried about to ensure that the final touches were in place. Spike barked orders at ponies while Rarity arranges the order of the models and their outfits. When everything was ready Spike walked on stage to read the introduction Rarity wrote for him. As soon as Spike gave his speech the show was underway.

Ponies dressed in contemporary fashion graced the catwalk with their elegant gaits. Rarity's dresses were reminiscent of certain strains. Some ensembles even featured marijuana leaves. Every garb and accessory was made by hemp. The audience enjoyed the display as well as the guests of honor. Rarity shed tears of joy when she saw the smiles on everypony's faces.

Twilight arrived as the fashion show was wrapping up. She snuck backstage to greet Rarity and Spike. Spike was rolling a joint for Rarity's cigarette holder.

"Hey guys, I'm back," she said.

"Darling!" Rarity said. "Where have you been? The show is almost over."

"I was busy with a friend."

"Oh? Clopping hooves with you know who?"

"Wha- Oh! No, it wasn't like that. It was another friend who I thought I could help. Anyway, how did the show go?"

"It was marvelous, Twilight," Rarity said as she placed the prepared joint in her holder and lit it. "I'll tell you more about it, dear, but I must make my debut, now. Excuse me."

Twilight watched as Rarity received a standing ovation. Ponies stamped the ground beneath them to applaud her. Twilight took this opportunity to compose herself for her speech. She looked in a nearby mirror to make sure her hair was straight or if any hay was in her teeth. She performed mouth exercises to herself to limber up. She did not notice the white shadow casted over her. It was Princess Celestia. The princess cleared her throat to gain Twilight's attention.

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight yelped in surprise. "What are you doing here? I mean not that I wasn't expecting you! You're the Princess! Of course…" Twilight paused to clear her throat and recompose herself. "What I mean is why are you here, backstage? I had a booth arranged for you next to our guests."

"I saw," Celestia said as she peered at the Kush family. "I am not sure why I expected them to look like… something else. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised."

"I think you will be surprised, your grace."

"That is why I am here, Twilight Sparkle. You have surprised me on more than one occasion. No matter the trial, you've always managed to find a way to conquer it. I notice your tenacity and I admire your spirit. I am here to give you another chance to surprise me, young Princess. I came backstage to wish you good luck… and to say that I am sorry for threatening you. I was worried about my sister and I let my selfish views get in the way of trusting you on this matter. So whatever happens today, I won't stand in your way."

Twilight was touched by her words. She began shedding tears. She was too embarrassed to have her mentor look at her while she was crying. She turned her face away to thank her.

"I don't suppose you've seen my… nevermind. I shouldn't ask that now. I shall go to my seat." Celestia began to make her exit. She stopped to tell Twilight one more thing. "If you do see her… could you tell her I'm sorry and that I miss her?"

Twilight turned around and walked over to Celestia. "No," said. "I will not honor that request." Princess Celestia held a slightly shocked expression. Twilight continued "Instead I'm going to make sure that you'll tell her yourself. You can count on me!"

Princess Celestia forgot herself and embraced Twilight as tight as she could. She thanked her and left to her seat. Spike came to see if Twilight was ready for her speech. Twilight was too preoccupied with her thoughts. She thought it strange for Princess Celestia to hug her like that. She also detected a faint aroma of fruit on her. Twilight never smelled a scent like that before on Princess Celestia. Spike continued to call Twilight's attention.

"Twilight, did you hear me?" he said.

"S-sorry, Spike," Twilight said shaking her head. "I'm fine. I'm ready to go."

As Rarity left the stage, Spike got into to position to introduce Twilight. He waited of course for Princess Celestia to take her seat. When everypony was in place Spike began.

"Fillies and Gentlecults, it is my esteemed duty to introduce our speaker tonight before the voting. Please stomp your hooves for the beautiful and intelligent Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle!"

Ponies everywhere cheered for the purple alicorn as she made her way to the podium. She waited for the crowd to simmer before she began.

_My fellow citizens, _

_A few days ago Ponyville was visited by a family of humble farmers who brought along with them their talents and a harvest of crops unlike any this town has ever had the pleasure of experiencing. The Kush family introduced us to the cannabis plant. Not only that but they were kind enough to teach us the many uses and benefits of it. I think I speak for most of us when I say we thank them for their generosity and expertise. But today we come together to make one decision. Though we appreciate what the Kush family has brought to us, we must decide on whether or not it is right for us. Each of you will have the opportunity today to vote whether we welcome the Kush family and their business to Ponyville. But before we open the polls I would like to share with you the result of my research on cannabis for the sake of those who are unsure about having it here. _

_There are many positive uses for cannabis. But I can see that many like to use it recreationally. Cannabis, from what I can tell, can impair your thinking causing a pony to feel relaxed enough to let their guard down, similar to how too much cider effects us. It is important that we treat cannabis consumption responsibly by practicing moderation. Too much cannabis can have very adverse effects on a pony. We must hold ourselves accountable even for those who cannot. A trip is a lot more fun with a friend or two._

_It was mentioned at our last town meeting that cannabis was classified as an illegal drug in other towns and cities, like Manehatten for example. Manehatten claims cannabis as drug that attracts violent crime and poverty, according to a few reports I've found. Well, after more digging I found that crime and poverty increased after the city declared it as illegal. I believe the criminalization of it caused crime and poverty to increase. I know there are going to be ponies who are going to do whatever they please, some even in the crowd. I wouldn't want to invite the temptation to break the law. I would however like to maintain the essence that makes this town what it is. That is why if we vote to ban cannabis, anypony who possess it here will be banished for three years. We can't have a few bad apples spoiling the bunch. _

_Lastly, I would like to mention some of the very good things we could see if we vote for cannabis to stay here. Ponyville is the closest town to the Kush Family Farm other than Manehatten. If we vote to keep marijuana here we would be the only town in this corner of Equestria that would that will allow use and business for it. It would give Equestria another reason to visit our lovely town, which can definitely boost our local economy. From pre-established business with a pre-established market to new business who want to focus more on cannabis related products, everypony has a chance to grab a piece of the pie. _

_With the said I conclude this speech with these last words: whatever is decided today will only propel us forward as citizens of Ponyville. I personally would like to thank the Kush family again for sharing their gift with us. I would also like to thank Princess Celestia for attending this historic occasion. But most of all I would like to thank you, Ponyville, for being so cooperative and understanding. I think when we come together like this, magical things can happen._

_So without further ado, I declare the polls OPEN!_

With the last words Twilight shot a beam of magic into the sky. Stars and sparkles spelled 'Happy Voting' for all to see. Ponies everywhere cheered for Twilight as she stepped down from the stage to greet her happy subjects. The Kush family and Princess Celestia is there to greet her but other ponies rush before her to shake the hoof of Princess Twilight. One unicorn pony was eager to know if magic helped influence her magic.

Twilight was taken by the enthusiasm of the pony. She gave a quick glance at Celestia as if to seek her approval to offer her time to another before her. "Well I did pick up a little trick," Twilight said as she grabbed a few buds from her satchel she had nearby. Just as Princess Luna did before on the moon, Princess Twilight ignited the buds in a bubble concealing the smoke and then used another kind of magic to illuminate the bubble. She then chilled the bubble with frost magic. She offered the pony to inhale the smoke. "I've perfectly vaporized the buds and changed the properties of the THC with some alchemy making it more potent. I also chilled it to make it more smooth."

The pony inhaled took a hit from the bubble. She then offered it to other ponies like Golden and Silver Kush. She offered the bubble to Celestia but she politely declined. She appeared surprised by the magical dexterity Twilight possessed for such an herb. Upon exhale from some of the takers, Golden Kush declared that to be the best vape he ever experienced. Silver Kush quietly concurred. Vanilla Kush came over and complemented her on her speech.

"Thank you, Twilight," Vanilla said as she tightly embraced Twilight. "We were so lucky to have met a princess like you. You truly are a remarkable pony!"

Twilight blushed as she returned the hug. She was overcome with joy. Princess Celestia finally approached Twilight. Celestia passed a fancy bottle of aromatic liquid to one of her nearby guards. Twilight didn't feel that it was appropriate to address it.

"Young Princess," she started slightly slurred. "I have never been more proud of you than I am on this day. You performed your duties with zeal and poise. It was quite impressive."

"Thank you, your grace," Twilight bowed. Princess Celestia brought Twilight closer to her to give her a hug as well. She whispered something into her ear.

"You know, I've only known my sister to perform such a trick," the Sun Princess said.

Twilight backed away from the Princess with a look of concern.

"Princess Celestia, there is something you should know," Twilight began. "Recently I… well she-"

"She is here, dear sister," said a voice.

The bubble of smoke Twilight still had appeared to leak. The smoke bellowed from the bubble but instead of dispersing, the smoke darkened and took form of something. The smoke solidified and took the form of Princess Luna. Ponies around clopped their hooves at the eerie spectacle, even Princess Celestia who was especially impressed.

"I must say, it is a sight to see you so amused by that old trick, sister," Luna said after she exhaled her smoke. "I always thought you didn't appreciate my interest in this."

Princess Celestia slowly approached Princess Luna. "It's true," she said. "I haven't always approved of this lifestyle. I hated what it did to you. I hated that none of your loved ones could bring you happiness like this plant could. I was jealous of it because I felt that it took you away from us. I like your smoke magic quite a lot. You were always such a… showoff! But you were always the creative one. I should've just accepted this as a part of who you are instead of just doing what father told us-"

Princess Luna rushed to embrace her sister. Twilight began to direct the crowd away from the two Princesses for privacy. "Oh Tia, I just knew you'd understood! This makes me feel so-" It was then Luna caught a whiff of a familiar scent. She smelled alcohol on her worried sister. She pulled away with a look of disbelief on her face. "Tia, have you been…"

Celestia hung her head in shame. "I was weak, Lulu" she said. "I didn't know what to do with myself."

"I drove you back into that. I blame myself for pushing you. You are not our father, Tia. You do not have to share his weaknesses. Come, let's get you home."

The two walked off together without saying a word to anypony. Before helping Princess Celestia into the hooves of a guard, she gave a look at Twilight. Twilight returned a look as soon as she had her chance to. Luna smiled at her showing her gratitude. Twilight also smiled, knowing she didn't do anything. She was happy to see two siblings reconcile their differences.

Moments later Twilight emerged from the voting booth. She felt confident and content. She found her friends who all seemed to be enjoying caramel apples. Applejack had one set aside for her. They were medicated with Cana-caramel. Twilight was about sink her teeth into her treat when two guards interrupted her with somepony in their custody.

"Your majesty," one of them started. "We apprehended this troublemaker who was disturbing the festivities. Shall we take her to the dungeon?"

"The dungeon?" Twilight exclaimed. "What dungeon? I don't have a dungeon."

"Forgive me your majesty, but you actually have access to 13 dungeons located near this area. We'd be humbled to throw this delinquent in any one of them if it pleases you, your grace."

"13 dun-," Twilight stopped to recompose herself, again. "Excuse me, but who is this pony? What did she do?"

The pony wore a trench coat and a hat. She purposely tried to conceal her identity. Twilight pulled the hat off of her to see who the culprit was. It was Pinkie Pie. She hung her head and tightly shut her eyes, still trying to hide herself.

"Pinkie Pie, what are doing here dressed like this," Twilight asked.

Pinkie looked up and saw that Twilight was waiting for a response. She didn't appear angry. But Pinkie cringed at the sight of her shocked friends.

"Please don't make me do this," Pinkie Pie said under her breath. "Not like this."

"Pinkie Pie, please. Guards, leave her with me. I'll take it from here. Thank you."

The guards left without questioning the Princess's decision. Pinkie Pie sat face to face with Twilight. Vanilla Kush, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack sat away from them with watchful eyes. "Now tell, us Pinkie Pie," Twilight said. "What's the meaning of all of this?"

Pinkie Pie began to shed tears. Words were on the tip of her tongue but she was too choked up with her weeping. "Oh my gosh, Twilight" Pinkie started. "You were right all along. I have a problem! I came here to bum weed off of ponies because I spent all of my money on it! I can't stop. All I want to do is get high and stay high forever. It helps me forget how sad I am. I don't know what to do."

Twilight and her friends looked at each other with concern. Vanilla Kush approached Twilight and Pinkie Pie. Twilight was happy to see Pinkie Pie here and admit that she has a problem, but she is unsure of what to do now.

"Pinkie Pie," she began. "I'm happy you made it this far. Don't worry I'm sure we can find a way through this. What do you think Vanilla?"

"Pinkie Pie, it's okay Pinkie Pie," Vanilla Kush said as she placed her hoof on Pinkie Pie's shoulder. "What you're feeling right now is an addiction."

"Heavens!" Rarity uttered. "Cannabis is addictive? Well I just hope that isn't true."

"Yeah, I was startin' to like the green stuff," Applejack. "But we can't be dealin' with somethin' dangerous like an addiction."

"They're right Vanilla," Twilight added.

"Don't worry," Vanilla Kush assured. "Cannabis isn't addictive. But it can fuel an addictive lifestyle. Pinkie Pie, I believe your body is addicted to getting high. Cannabis is a very high stimulant. I suppose a pony like you would have some trouble getting a grip on it. Cannabis can have a chemical effect on a pony that might be different for another pony."

"Well what do I do," Pinkie Pie asked as she fell to the ground holding Vanilla's hooves.

"Well you have to make an important decision. You either recognize it as a problem you can't fix and abandon it all together or recognize it as a weakness you can strengthen. I'll warn you, though: it is much easier to just give it up. But if you're serious, my mother can help you."

"And so will your friends," Twilight said cuing everypony to hug Pinkie Pie.

"Thank you all so much," Pinkie said. "I'm gonna throw you guys the best picnic ever."

The ponies laughed at the remark as they continued consoling their friend with a group hug. Spike finally showed up to join them. He arrived looking for Twilight.

"What's this about a picnic?" Spike said as he saw the cluster of hug ponies. "Um, I'm starting to think that every time I leave I always come back to a mushy moment like this. Anyways, the voting is almost done, Twilight."

"Okay, thank you, Spike," Twilight said. "How bout it girls? No matter what the results are, let's all have that picnic." The girls all agreed and cheered at the idea.


	10. Chapter 10

"Oh my gosh, Gummy! Can't you believe it's already been 4 months since the vote?" Pinkie Pie was packing a wagon full of lunch ware and confections. She was talking to her pet alligator while she finishes baking a cake. She zips all around the kitchen of Sugarcube Corner doing other things as well. Gummy gives a blank stare as she continues. "Finally we're gonna have that picnic. Boy has it been busy since weed was legalized here. Who would've thought that this would change everypony's lives? Business at the store has exploded ever since we started selling Medi-Cupcakes! They're made with a super special secret ingredient! You know what it is? Of course you don't silly gator but I'll tell you: it's Sativa! Yup! It's all I take now. It perks me up instead of slowing me down! I get lots of energy! Aurora Indica Kush has taught me all about. If it wasn't for her I'll still be depressed or worse, Gummy! But she taught me how to meditate and conquer my urges, real mental mind stuff, and it totally works!"

Pinkie continued to talk with Gummy as she prepared herself. Meanwhile Fluttershy, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were approaching Sugarcube Corner. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had new hairdos. Fluttershy received a braid in her mane along with flowers she added herself. Rainbow Dash had the back of her mane cut off but left the top alone. They too were in the middle of a conversation.

"So long story short, Ah'm gonna have to have The Talk with Applebloom," Applejack said concluding her story.

"Oh dear," Fluttershy said. "I'm sure that was awkward. But at least she's starting to grow into a young mare! It's so very exciting."

"Big whoop," Rainbow Dash said. "Who cares about courtship? It's so stupid!"

"Is that, right?" Applejack said.

"Oh that reminds me," Fluttershy continued. "Me and Rainbow Dash went on a double date last night with Bulk Biceps and his friend Gizmo. It was fine until Rainbow Dash, um,... well…"

"Lemme guess," Applejack started. "She scared him off."

"Wow, Applejack! That was a really good guess! Anyway, I treated her to the salon today since the whole thing was my idea."

"Boys are stupid little wimps!" Rainbow Dash yelled. "How was I supposed to know he couldn't handle a punch? I wanted to see how tough he was. It's not my fault that he's weaker than twig."

"Uh, Rainbow, I know Gizmo, and you can tell that just by looking at the poor thing," Applejack said as they finally arrived at Sugarcube Corner.

"Whatever. Guys are dumb. I mean why does it have to be guys anyway? Who made that rule? Why can't I just go on a date with a girl, huh? I know plenty a tough girls that can hang with me and we would do cool stuff on our dates. I just wish things were different, ya know?"

"Rainbow Dash, looks like Ah'm gonna have to talk to you, too."

At that remark the front door to Sugarcube Corner burst opened with Pinkie gripping her cart. She was surprised to see her friends there.

"Hey, girls," Pinkie Pie greeted. "I was just on my way. Gasp! Did you three come here to help me?"

"We sure did," Applejack said. "But it looks like yer all set."

"Yup! I am. Sorry you came all this way for nothing. But at least we can go there together, now. C'mon!"

The ponies began their trek out of Ponyville. Meanwhile on the Kush farm preparations were being made in the yard next to the house. Silver Kush was working on a picnic table with Spike. Aurora Indica Kush brought out a large platter of cucumber sandwiches and carrot sticks. Strawberry Kush and her Cutie Mark Crusader friends helped carry the punch bowl and cups. They placed the refreshments on top of the picnic table. Aurora Indica stopped to admire it.

"Like, tubular work the table, Spike and Silver," she said.

"Nothing to it," Spike said giving her a thumbs up while he waits for Silver to finish polishing. "I love working out here. All of this hard work is making tougher. Right Silver?"

"You bet, little one," Silver said.

"Mommy," Strawberry Kush whined. "Can we please have some Medi-Cookies? Pretty please with Strawberry whipped cream on top?"

"Like, no and junk," Aurora said.

"Aww," pouted the small pink Pegasus.

"But, like, you girls can chow down on these regular cookies. Like I baked them especially for you."

Strawberry, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom smiled and took the cookies without complaining. They thanked her as they left to go play on the other side of the house. The enjoyed the fresh baked cookies on the grass.

"Well it was a nice try," Sweetie Belle said.

"I sure can't wait to get big like Rainbow Dash," Scootaloo said after finishing her cookie first. "Then I can do whatever I want."

"Yeah, it's nice that cannabis is legal here, now but grownups are super strict about keeping it away from kids. We can't even deliver it anymore."

"Darn tootin', Sweetie Belle," Applebloom said. "I'm tired of being treated like a kid, too. It's time we take matters in our own hooves. That's why I took these!" Applebloom held out her hoof to show her friends that she had five cannabis seeds. They were surprised to see them.

"Are those what I think they are?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yup," said Applebloom

"Where did you get those?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"I found em in the trash in that barn over there."

"What are you gonna do with them?" Strawberry asked.

"I'm glad you asked. We're gonna grow em ourselves. I got it all planned out. We're gonna grow them in our clubhouse. This way we'll have our own supply and when Babs Seed come over, we wouldn't have to try and steal some like how we tried last month."

"That's a great idea," Scootaloo cheered.

"Yay! No more stealing," Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

"And the best part is Strawberry can show us how, right?" Applebloom questioned.

"I think so. It shouldn't be too hard."

"Good enough, fer me!"

"C'mon," Scootaloo said. "Let's go celebrate with more cookies."

The little ponies ran back to the refreshments to gather more treats. Aurora brought out a pot of tea and some teacups. The fillies ran passed her as she approached the table. Golden Kush also came to the table with a small basket of buds. He placed them on the table as well next to torches, rolling papers, and pipes.

"Spike, my friend," Golden Kush began. "Did you pay all the volunteers before they left today? I totally forgot again."

"Yeah, I did it a while ago." Spike assured. "50 bits and a quarter of today's special for each of them, like always."

"Thank you, my friend. What a busy morning! But we get to have fun now. Oh geez, I forgot to fetch the grinder. I'll be back."

Suddenly, a burst of magic emitted from the front of the house. Everypony looked in that direction to see what was happening. Two voices can be heard coming from the front. It was Twilight Sparkle and Vanilla Kush. The two were discussing work.

"...So we had to shut down that Cannabutter stand because it wasn't up to code." Vanilla said to Twilight, as she was reading from a notebook. "They have three days to shape up or we're terminating our contract with them. That would mean we would have to find another butter maker."

"Good," Twilight said. "How are the efforts in Manehatten?"

"The sooner they get a new mayor, the sooner we can move forward," Vanilla said as she turned the page in her notebook. "The current administration is totally demonizing The Cannabis Coalition. They're calling us the Drug Party. The Mayor's term is almost over and things are looking good for the new candidate. He's in favor of our cause but it's going to take some time to undo the damage done already."

"And Canterlot?"

"They want to see how Ponyville does after a year's time."

"That's fair. One more thing," Twilight said as she turned to Vanilla.

"Yes, your majesty?"

"Did you give me a kiss today?"

"I did not, your majesty."

"When will I receive my kiss?"

"It should arrive shortly, your majesty," Vanilla said as she looked at her watch. "In 5-4-3-2-1. And I'm done for the day. Hey there, Princess Sexy Hooves. You look like you can use something sweet."

"Mmm, Vanilla. My favorite flavor."

The two ponies passionately kissed in front of everypony by the time they reached the side of the house. Everypony pretended to not pay attention to them and not say a word. Spike looked at the Kushes and back at Twilight and Vanilla. He knew this would go on if he didn't do something. To preserve decency, Spike cleared his throat to gain the attention of the two lovers.

"Oh, um, excuse us," Twilight said as she recomposed herself.

"Oh, Princess Twilight. Commissioner Kush," Aurora said in a fake surprised tone. "Like, I didn't notice you come in. Like welcome. Make yourselves at home and junk."

"Thanks Ms. Kush," Twilight greeted. "And no need to be formal. We're off the clock now."

"Oh, like, far out. Want some tea?"

Twilight agreed to a cup while Vanilla went inside the house to see if anything else needs attention. Aurora and Twilight enjoyed a cup of tea together discussing Medicinal research. Spike, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and the rest of the Kush's also began to congregate to the picnic table. Soon, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy showed up to join them.

"Hey there everypony," Pinkie Pie shrilled. "Are ya ready to picnic PARTY!?"

"Like, Pinkamena! Salutations sister," Aurora greeted with a hug. "Have you've been meditating? I can sense your reddish aura has returned."

"Welp, if that means I'm back to normal, then it working alright! But it helps that I'm around my friends, too."

"Right on, my friend," said Golden Kush taking the wagon away from Pinkie Pie. He and Silver Kush began placing the treats on the table.

"Hey gals," Twilight greeted. "Where's Rarity?"

"Beats me," Rainboe Dash shrugged.

"Haven't seen her all day," Applejack added.

"Yoohoo!" said a voice from a distance followed by honking noises. Rarity came riding on a purple motor scooter. It was accented with decals of her cutie mark. "Bonjour, darlings!" Rarity pulled up and parked her scooter. Everypony came to gather around it.

"What in the hay is that contraption?" Applejack asked.

"It's a scooter," Rarity said as she removed her decorative helmet. "Trust me darling, these are gonna be all the rage. I went to a soiree at a mansion where we sampled the finest herbs. I met this young inventor who made this thing and get this: it's powered by water! Isn't that ever so lovely? I asked him to make one for me and he did. Of course I just had to add a few aesthetic touches. I just picked it up today!"

"Whoa, that's awesome," Spike said. "You should get one too Twilight."

"Spike, I can fly," Twilight said. "And teleport."

"Oh yeah," said the baby dragon who couldn't help but laugh at his sudden realization.

Another burst of magic was heard from the front of the Kush house. Everypony waited to see who else was attending the event. It was Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They brought with them a couple bottles of Royal Cider. They both wore matching ponytails in their manes and casual dresses.

"Greetings, everypony," Princess Celestia said. "We do apologize for being late. It's our sister day."

"We took turns picking out each other's outfits," Princess Luna said. "We were having so much fun that we lost track of time."

"How cute," Twilight chuckled. "Welcome your graces. There's tea and sandwiches at the picnic-"

"Oh sister," Luna shouted from the table where she was already helping herself to a cupcake. "Lookie, lookie."

Princess Celestia came over to her sister with her poured cup of tea.

"What is it?" she asked. Princess Luna looked down at the table to direct Celestia's attention to what she found. It was the basket of buds. Luna gave a mischievous look to her sister.

"Oh no," Princess Celestia said. "I'll just have some cider if I want to have some fun."

"Oh, come now! You promised that you would try it with me once. What better time than now?"

"I'm not sure," Princess Celestia said trying to withdraw.

"You're in a safe place, dear sister. Trust me."

Princess Celestia hesitated before giving in to appease her pestering little sister. Excited, Luna begins to prepare a pipe for her. She used the crank grinder Golden Kush brought out. She grounded the nuggets into a crushed pile. She carefully placed the crushed buds into the bowl of the pipe and placed it in the mouth of Celestia. Princess Celestia began to inhale from the pipe. "Let me light it first, silly" Luna said as she laughed. Luna ignited the bowl with a torch. Celestia quickly inhaled, incinerating the contents of the bowl. Luna was worried that she took too much of a drag but Celestia held in her smoke without coughing. She held in her smoke for almost ten seconds before exhaling. Luna was surprisingly impressed.

"Very good, Tia," she praised.

"I learned from the best," Princess Celestia said with a harsh throat. "So when does it kick in?"

"Give it a minute."

Princess Twilight and Vanilla came over to see what was happening. She saw that Celestia was holding a pipe and smoke was coming from it. Her jaw dropped as she inhaled her gasp.

"No. Way," she said.

"Oh dear, Luna," Princess said with a crooked smile. "She saw me. What will I do, now?"

"You can smoke with your dearest student," Princess Luna suggested.

"I bet she would love that," Vanilla added, nudging Twilight.

"I mean, I don't want to pressure you," Twilight said fidgeting. "But it would be like the coolest thing ever! I think we would have some very interesting conversations." Princess Celestia blankly stared at Twilight. Twilight was worried why she wasn't responding. "Princess Celestia?" she said.

"Yes? I- um. Oh dear!" Princess Celestia. "I think I'm starting to feel it. I heard what you said Twilight but it just did not register! I feel so light!"

"This is going to be quite the afternoon," Luna said.

The ponies ate and drank and smoked in fellowship and merriment. After they finished they all enjoyed the nice weather around the farm. Applejack nodded off under a tree alongside Rarity who cuddled with Spike. Spike and Rarity was sharing a joint with each other. Rainbow Dash and the Cutie Mark Crusaders played tag in the fields. Pinkie Pie and Aurora Indica Kush meditated together near the lake. Silver and Golden Kush relaxed in rocking chairs by the house. And on a short hill Vanilla Kush shared words with the Princesses while passing a pipe around. Princess Celestia was smiling as she held the hoof of her sister. It was a peaceful end to a peaceful afternoon.


End file.
